The Film Daily (1948)

Thursday, August 12, 1948 DAILY {eveal Results of Icetate Base Trial ' Predicting a two to five year inustry changeover to non-inflammale ■-^tate safety base film, William le'V-^^iead of the M-G-M print dearrrrrent, yesterday disclosed widepread experimentation has been in :rogress at both the Eastman Kodak 'iboratories and throughout the Duntry in theaters under varying • tmospheric conditions. Results tiowed acetate film is as suitable s nitrate film and stands up as to uality and durability. ': M-G-M, Kelly said, used acetate Vints for "If Winter Comes" and in iot one of 10,000 situations could xhibitors tell any diff^erence. Aceite film is also superior, Kelly said, 1 that it does not turn brown with ge. This is the case with nitrate Im. Within the next 10 months, Kelly sported, there will be further exeriments to determine effect of plicing acetate film to the regular ^ rogram. This will be confined ■(jiiefly to shorts. A new cement has I een developed for acetate-nitrate j Dlicing and is available from supply dealers. Iljl Kelly pointed out tJiat at the presTTit time acetate film costs about 'V'ne-half cent more than nitrate but +'ith future mass production there ( ; indication there will ultimately be saving. He figures this in about JVC to five years. Cnutson Predicts Repeal ioon of War Born Taxes (Continued from Page 1) ur entire excise tax system. Undoubtedly some of the war taxes will ave to be repealed, while others ^ifill have to be reduced during the iext session of Congress, if the reveI ue of the Government will permit." I Knutson then pointed out that the I dmissions and a number of other Kcise levies were imposed before le war. The Minnesota Congressional vet«i['t"an also dwelt upon the dangers of flying too heavily upon the Income ax as a revenue producing agency. ; is too unstable, he said, recalling lat in 1932 it had to be bolstered y additional excise taxes. iooney, Stiefel Form 'our Way Prod. Company 'flVest Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY !. Hollywood — RooneyStiefel Prod, as been formed here by Mickey *f .coney and Sam H. Stiefel. Latter . a former Philadelphia exhib. who as been the actor's manager for the ast six years. Company will operate in films, idio, stage and television. Rooney jcently signed a new pact with [-G-M under which he is permitted ) operate independently. Plans call >r shooting the first R-S pic in f tober. '^^ PHIL M. DALY In the Cause of Youth WASHINGTON • • • THE AMERICAN MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY'S deep and abiding — and infelHgent and pafriofic — interest in the country's youth, the men and women of tomorrow, called a distinguished group of theater men, exhibitor organization executives and industry journalists to the White House yesterday for inspiring ceremonies incident to the first day sale of the "Salute to Youth" postage stamp The White House program climaxed as President Truman, flanked by Ted Gamble, TOA president, and Charles P. Skouras, TOA Youth Month national chairman; Gael Sullivan, TOA executive director; AttorneyGeneral Tom C. Clark, and Sen. Alben Barkley, received from Jesse M. Donaldson, the Postmaster General, the first sheet of the new commemorative stamp In turn, the President presented sheets of the stamp to three youngsters chosen to represent the nation's youth. T T ▼ • • • SOME 400 GOVERNMENT dignitaries and others interested in the prevention of juvenile delinquency passed through the guarded gales to enter the White House, file through the executive office, where the President was waiting with a cordial handshake, and then on to the portico and rose garden of the executive wing To not a few in the industry party it was reminiscent of other visits, recalled other causes in which film men and women have served Among them, the fight against polio, the American Red Cross, and, of course, the War Bond drives Indeed, name the cause of national scope and importance and see how quickly come to mind those in film business who did not only their bit but more. T ▼ T • • • FOLLOWING THE WHITE HOUSE ceremonies, Skouras, National Theaters' president, was host at a Carlton Hotel luncheon for industryites Among his guests were: Gamble; Drew Pearson; Harry M. Lowenstein of Oklahoma City; Albert Pickus of Stratford, Conn.; Fred Kogod and Sidney Lust of Washington; Edward Martin of Columbus, Ga.; Kermit Stengel of Nashville, Tenn.; Tony Muto, 20thFox's Washington liaison; Joseph De Fiore of the Delaware MPTO; Herman M. Levy, TOA general counsel, of New Haven, Conn.; Maury Miller of Passaic; Thornton Sargent, Henry Murdock, Stanley Prenosil of the TOA; Sam Shain of 20th-Fox; Chester B. Bahn, editor of THE FILM DAILY; Andy Older, Washington bureau chief of THE FILM DAILY; James J. Jerrauld, Walter Brooks and Mel Konecoff. T T T • • • IT WAS STRICTLY INFORMAL, the luncheon, and Shain, who had escorted the press contingent on the flight to the capital, drew a particularly warm welcome as he delivered his charges, who had wandered a bit afield Quote Skouras, "Any time 20th-Fox doesn't want him, I'll take him" The luncheon over, many in the party visited the 20th-Fox offices before motoring to the airport for the return flight. ▼ T T • • • AS A SIDELIGHT, THIS: White House ceremonies to mark the advent of a new commemorative stamp, of course, are not new. but the turn out for yesterday's function eclipsed anything that the White House had experienced in the past Approximately 500 invitations were extended by the Postmaster General The acceptances poured in until they numbered 400 The TOA indeed is in excellent company in furthering Youth Month And to Gael Sullivan, all credit for a fine job. Allied Hinting at (Continued from Page 1) counsel, has pointed to the possibility of a Government suit to divorce major companies from music publishing houses under their ownership or control "should they resort to profiteering by charging exorbitant public performance royalties for the music included in their films." Sees "Calculated Risk" At the same time, Myers wrote in a letter to an Allied leader, the possibility that producers will demand additional rates for music as high or higher than the ASCAP seat tax rates "is a calculated risk." He pointed out that exhibitors can more easily bargain with distributors than they can with ASCAP. "Moreover, with the producers shorn of most if not all their theaters, and the now-controlled film market opened to new producers and new distributors, the resulting competition will force the producers to keep their costs and their film rentals as low as possible. The producers have been badly spoiled by the enjoyment of a controlled market for so many years that they are still thinking in terms of squeezing the last penny out of the exhibitors. In a competitive market they will have to revise their thinking." "No Risk" in Refusing To Deal Allied members have all been notified, it was said, to make no further payments to ASCAP, nor to sign any further contracts with ASCAP until the appeal on last month's New York decision is cleared up. "No risk" is involved in refusing to deal with ASCAP under present circumstances, it was said. A further consideration involving the producers, Allied leaders point out, is those instances where a composer might be employed especially to write for a particular film, after which he turns over the copyright to a music publishing house controlled by the producer. "In such cases the producer collects, via ASCAP, a substantial part of the public performance royalties on its own music, recorded on its own film and licensed to the exhibitors for exhibition," Myers pointed out. Allied toppers add that that is a basic factor in the determination of its position in the matter by TOA. "Every time we and other independents move against ASCAP," one leader said, "we are at the same time moving against the producers. That explains the TOA position." First Canadian Tele Show in Odeon House Toronto — Television was seen for the first time in a Canadian Theater last night when a receiver was set up in the lobby of the Odeon Circuit's Danforth, to relay a telecast from Buffalo. Event was apart from the regular film show.