The Film Daily (1948)

» IM^^^y^^^r^^^ Intimate in Character international in Scope Independent in Thought The Daily Newspaper Of Motion Pictures Twenty-Nine Years Old -IFDAILY NO. 69 NEW YORK, FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 1948 TEN CENTS $1,357,128 ASCAP "Take" from Film Theaters aylor Leaving Presidency |jl.i May; Society Working t)n Music Fees for Video of j mnv BACK TOfl'S mOVES VS. BIDDING j Motion picture theaters paid $1,57,128 into ASCAP'S coffers in 1947, the Society was told yesterday it its annual membership meeting jy Deems Taylor, who announced his jetirement from the presidency, efbctive in May. Taylor's announcement stirred immediate speculation as to his sucessor, with the name of Gene Buck, former president prominently menioned. In his report, Taylor said that ,SCAP had collected $6,708,802 in (Continued on Page 4) JST Readying Video "or Use in Theaters j U. S. Television Mfg. Corp. is comleting development work on a UST emote screen unit permitting pix as irge as 12 by 16 feet for use under ontrolled lighting conditions in heaters. Initial tests are described s "highly pleasing." Company, headed by Hamilton (Continued on Page 4) Howard Hughes Deal for RKO Ownership Via Atlas Stoch Purchase Dead — Odium Howard Hughes' deal for the acquisition of Atlas Corp's holdings in RKO Corp. is all off. Odium, in a formal statement released late yesterday, said that the conversations "with my old friend, Howard Hughes" relating to the "purchase and sale" of the RKO common stock held by the investment trust had been terminated with no agreement reached. "No other negotiations are now pending," Odium added. Informed sources said last night that it had been impossible to get together on price. .ower Income Homes, Not lich. Buy Most Video Sets Almost three out of every four elevision sets in the New York metropolitan area are in the homes f middle, lower middle and poor inome groups, according to a survey eleased yesterday by the research (Continued on Page 4) PCC on the Spot via U. S.°Soviet Council San Francisco — Pacific Coast Conference, which wants stars kept out of political pix during this campaign year, found itself with a hot potato in its hands yesterday with the receipt of a congratulatory wire from the National Council of AmericanSoviet Friendship. Council further told the PCC that inasmuch as it feels that way about it, the Conference should act similarly in opposing ZOth-'Fox's "Iron Curtain." Record of 14 Indies Working on Col. Lot West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Increasing trend toward production by independent units is emphasized by the situation at Columbia. Studio now has 14 independent units, an unprecedented total working on pictures to be released by the company. Most recent to tie in with Columbia is Santana Productions, headed by Humphrey Bogart and Robert Lord, (Continued on Page 4) SIMPP Members Advance Mulvey for Presidency West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — SIMPP members here are in agreement that the organization's next president should come from within the motion picture industry, it was learned here last night. Some executives are attempting to persuade James Mulvey, president of (Continued on Page 4) UJA Must Double '47 Fund, Pix Group Told Amusement division of the United Jewish Appeal must raise twice as much money as last year, declared Si Fabian, division chairman at yesterday's luncheon of industry toppers at the Hotel Astor. With Palestine Jewry fighting for very survival, more and more funds will be urgently needed to help, Fabian said. He reminded his audience, "Some (Continued on Page 3) Indies Giving Major Cos. "Shot in Arm" — Brisson Independent producers are currently giving the major studios a "much needed shot in the arm" and have served notice on the industry that they intend to remain a permanent factor in the film field, slated to claim an even bigeer share of the entertainment world revenue, Fred(Continued on Page 8) Unlikely to Ask for French $$ Gov't to Decide Soon on Renegotiation Two Top-Budget Small Westerns in UA Deal Edward Small's top budget westerns, "War Party," which starts shooting in May, and "Leather Stocking Tales," will be released via UA, it was announced yesterday by Prexy Grad Sears. Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washing-ton — An early decision by the State Department on the French request to renegotiate that portion of the Blum-Byrnes agreement providing minimum screen time for French films is looked for here — but with a provision for discussion of other sections of the agreement to be asked by the United States. The French Assembly has asked for re(Continued on Page 3) Possibility of Moves to Modify Equity Judgment Conceded by Tom Clark Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington — There is a possibility that the Department of Justice will backstop projected TOA moves to strike out the competitive bidding clause of the New York judgment in the event the Supreme Court fails to do so. Attorney General Tom C. Clark told this reporter yesterday it is quite conceivable the Government will move in support of TOA — but that he is not now ready to com(Continued on Page 8) U. S. Cos. Studying Canadian Studio Use Ottawa — A program of continuing cooperation by the U. S. motion picture industry leading toward the alleviation of this country's dollar prohlem was outlined here this week to C. D. Howe, Trade and Commerce Minister, by J. J. Fitzgibbons, FPC president, and Francis S. Harmon, MPAA vice-president. Utilization of Canada's scenic (Continued on Page 8) DeMille-Hartley Confer On New Labor Legislation Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington — Cecil B. DeMille was closeted yesterday with House Labor Committee chairman Fred A. Hartley for a discussion of additional labor legislation. At the conclusion of their conference, Hartley an(Continued on Page 8) Technicolor Action Trial 'Fairly Soon9 Washington Bur., THE FILM DAILY Washington — With no progress reported here toward a consent decree or any other kind of settlement, Attorney General Tom C. Clark said yesterday he expects to see the Government's anti-trust suit against Technicolor in trial "fairly soon." The case is being handled by the Los Angeles field office of the Department, Clark said.