The Film Daily (1948)

Motion £io*u*e Association 36 Weet 44th street FILE COPY C>0 NOT REMOVF — ■ ntimate in Character nternational in Scope Independent in Thought The Daily Newspaper Of Motion Pictures Twenty-Nine Years Old -1PDAILY' PA3, NO. 45 NEW YORK, MONDAY MARCH 8, 1948 TEN CENTS UTV PARLEYS HERD DOUJI) HOfllE STRETCH LS. Companies Planning Aussie Hollywood iff •tablishment of Studio enter Said Under Study; erican Execs. Awaited ydney (By Cable) — Establishnt of a studio center in Australia ! under serious consideration by U. I companies as a means of invest!j» the 50 per cent of earnings frozen ire under the agreement with the listralian Government, it is learned. [Word of the development, often Ingested as one of the ways Ameri fis might use the millions of dols to be frozen in the next 10 jars, comes in an official announce( Continued on Page 7) ape Pictures Files 330,000 Trust Suit Cape Girardeau, Mo. — Suits for ^0,000 damages were filed in Fecial District Court here by Cape Picres, Inc., of Memphis, Tenn., aded by H. H. Roth and B. A. oolner, against a group of motion iture producers, distributors and ■hibitors. The action charges monolistic practices in the release of In to theaters in Cape Girardeau. brrell Claims Proof of i-Prods. "Conspiracy' Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY I Washington — Herbert K. Sorrell, ill President told the House Labor nbcommittee Friday that he is "pos(9 s2ej uo panuj4uo3) "The Emperor Waltz'9 At Regular Scales Although "The Emperor Waltz" is "the finest picture that Paramount has ever made" in the opinion of Charles M. Reagan, vice-president and distribution chief, it will be released nationally on a regular admission price basis, July 2. "I don't think this is the time for advanced admission prices," Reagan declared. Pic stars Bing Crosby and Joan Fontaine, and has been held from release for some time, pending the liquidation of other Crosby starrers. LABOR, STAR COSTS BAR CHEAPER PIX Selznick Sees Still Higher Labor Costs and Increased Star Salaries for Few Qualifying as "Insurance" While Hollywood is effecting certain economies, and can effect still more, David O. Selznick is frankly dubious that the cuts thus far made, or to be made, will be sufficient to bring down production overhead to the point that cheaper pictures will result. There are two high barriers, the producer said in New York at the week-end, and he named them as studio labor costs and star salaries. SELZNICK Labor costs, ac cording to Selznick, are the biggest single element in production over head, although there was a tendency to hold executive and talent salaries responsible. As for reducing labor costs, he added that the chances instead favored still higher levels. That, the producer commented, was also true of star salaries. He noted that in Hollywood today there are approximately 25 stars who either alone or in combination have sufficient strength to qualify as "insurance" for the producer, and, in turn, for the distributor and exhibitor. The competition for these stars, Selznick observed, would be expected to increase rather than decrease when it was harder to attract the motion picture audience to the theater. That, he added, would mean still higher salaries. Discussing the approach to production economies, Selznick (Continued on Page 6) M-G-M To Release 11 Pix in 5 Mos — Rodgers West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Stressing a need for attracting "at least a good percentage of the more than 50,000,000 Americans who do not regularly go to the theater," William F. Rodgers, M-G-M vee-pee in charge of distribution, announced over the weekend that 11 productions would be released between April 1 and August 30. Holding that outstanding films (Continued on Page 4) Feature Pix Seen as Tele "Time Fillers" Television will not use the type of feature product available to the nation's theaters except as "time fillers" during its growing years, Frank E. Mullen, NBC vice-president and video chief, told the press at an interview at the weekend. Mullen, who had just returned from the Coast where he conferred with most of the major producers regarding tele, said that video view (Continued on Page 4) See TOA Fighting Lewis Bill ASCAP Deal Held Fair; Fear Producer Shift Decision Likely This Week In Jackson Park Action Chicago — A decision in the Jackson Park Theater contempt action in Federal Court here is expected to be handed down sometime this week. Concluding the distributor defend(Continued on Page 5) Rv RALPH WILK West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Los Angeles — Strong opposition to the Lewis Bill is evinced among TOA directors and officers gathered here for the meeting which begins tomorrow, indicating that the board may formally declare itself against transferring the responsibility of (Continued on Page 5) Decision May Come Tomorrow; Conferences Resume Today on U. S. Alternative London (By Cable)— The Anglo-American conferences looking to a compromise of the impasse which since mid-August last has blocked the flow of new Holly.1wood pictures to Britain are expected to head down the home stretch today, with possibly a decision tomorrow. Eric A. Johnston, MPAA-MPEA (Continued on Page 7) Local 306-Circuits Reach Oral Agreement Ten-month battle between the major circuits and projectionists' Local 306 finally ended in peace early Friday morning when an oral agreement was made in the presence of attorneys from each side. Meeting between the negotiating (Continued on Page 6) Local 306 is Organizing 16 mm. Projectionists Now that Local 306 has reached an agreement with the majors and the Broadway showcases, the union is out to corral the 16 mm. projec ( Continued on Page 5) Start Havana VC; Look for Int'l Tents Havana — There will be a Variety Club in every large distribution center in the world, if the plans of the international officers, headed by Bob O'Donnell, materialize,, according to George Hoover, Miami Tent chief barker. Thus far Mexico City has the only tent outside the United States. Hoover visited here last week to initiate arrangements, on instructions from O'Donnell. Local tent is expected to complete organization in time to send a delegation to the International convention at Miami this year. Organizing meetings held by Hoover were widely attended by film industryites.