Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1948)

SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, October 9, 1948 5 Drive-In Dope There are 756 drive-ins in the U. S., with a total capacity of 313,378 automobiles, of which 13 are closed, 137 operate through the year and 606 are open seasonally, the first report of the Motion Picture Association of America revealed this week. Construction is under way on 86 more. The report made public by the Association's Robert W. Chambers, lists the Charlotte territory with 107 as having the largest number of drive-ins, and Dallas with 78 as second. Forty-eight per cent of the houses run singles, 13 per cent are duals and 39 per cent have an alternating single and dual policy, Chambers said. Industry Council Endorses McNamara Plan Publicist Paul McNamara this week received the endorsement of the Motion Picture Industry Council in Hollywood for his $2,000,000 industry public relations plan. McNamara would set up an institute which would be supported by funds from all who get their income from the industry. "This includes producers, janitors, actors, exhibitors and everyone else in the business," he explained. "The fund will be used to get better public relations for the industry." Easier Film Market Likely As Releases Show Increase TOA Will Study Public Relations Setup Members of the Theatre Owners of America's public relations committee will meet within the next 60 days to discuss ways to expand its present public relations setup into a permanent organization, TOA headquarters in New York announced this week. 278 to Date tor Coming Season With Inventory Of 229 to Support Market From the shape of things to come exhibitors will face an easier motion picture market during the 1948-49 season as 15 distributors have set release dates for a total of 278 pictures, or eight more than the total that were put on the market during the 1947-48 season. More important probably is the fact that these 15 distributors can also support the market if it should show an increased appetite for product, since among them they have an inventory of 229 (either in work or completed) on which dates have not been set. The general increase of product for the coming season, coupled with the fact that several companies are making history by posting release dates months in advance, does not mean that all distributors have stepped up the number of releases. In fact, while the trend seems to get more product out of the vault so as to put more rental money back into the film cash vault, not all distributors have followed the policy of Republic, Universal-International and 20th Century-Fox, whose release schedules show a decided increase in products. Some companies have added a picture or so to their lists ; others have cut a few and still others have made a fairly substantial decrease. New Distributor The 1948-49 season also marked a new distributor in the field of new pictures as Film (Continued on Page 6) Government Ready with Court Demand For Divorce, Cross-Licensing Ban The Department of Justice revealed this week that it is ready formally to demand divorce of exhibition from distribution combined with theatre divestiture and a five-year modified ban on cross-licensing when the three-judge federal statutory court reopens hearings on several phases of the Government anti-trust suit against the eight major distributors. The hearings to consider the phases which the U. S. Supreme Court in May returned to the lower court for rehearing were scheduled to start Oct. 13, but last-minute indication pointed to the possibility that they might not get under way till early November as two of the defendants— Paramount and United Artists — are seeking 30-day postponements. Moreover, Oct. 13 is the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Important The divorce, divestiture and cross-licensing proposals are the most important aspects of the reopened case and apply only to the Big 5 theatre-owning defendants — Paramount, Loew's (MGM), Warner Bros., RKO, 20th CenturyFox. The Government asks that the Big 5 be : 1 ) Ordered to divest themselves of all theatres held with other defendants by Dec. 31, 1948. In this case one defendant may buy out the other provided the court is convinced that "such acquisition will not unduly restrain competition.-' 2) Restrained from acquiring any other theatres with other defendants or acquiring interest in any actual or potential competitor (Continued on Page 11) Johnston. Salesman A one-year deal for from 20 to 25 films was concluded between the Yugoslav film monopoly and the Motion Picture Export Association, President Eric Johnston was reported as stating from Belgrade. The deal is to be in exportable dollars. Johnston also reportedly concluded a similar deal with the Russians. No Peace Till You Book — Rank 'Equal Footing' A Must; Cites Success in Canada J. Arthur Rank bluntly warned the American film industry this week from London that there could "be no peace or understanding between the American Industry and the British industry" until British films received "reasonable playing time in the U. S. A., which they are not doing today." Issues Statement The Rank warning came as part of a statement which reviewed the financial situation of Rank's film empire, a statement in which he made it plain that his companies would make only pictures for which it saw a market. "We do not intend to embark," he said, "upon the production of a film for which we cannot see, based upon our past experience, a reasonable opportunity of recovering its cost from this market and from the overseas markets which are available to us." The British film tycoon further stated that British pictures had been successful wherever shown. "Ever since I entered the film industry," he said,, "my attitude to the American industry has been that I believed it was in the interests of both countries that Hollywood and British films should be seen together all over the world but that this result should be achieved on a friendly, (Continued on Page 12) Ascap Divestiture Uncertain; Court Ponders Authority in Civil Suit New York trade circles were pondering the possibility Wednesday that the decree and injunction which Federal Judge Vincent Leibell is to issue in the anti-trust suit he decided against the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, might be less stringent than the judge's opinion had originally indicated. This question arose after the Judge in open court had indicated that Ascap Attorneys Rob Zone Change The Omaha, Neb., city council has adopted a new zoning ordinance which provides that drive-ins may be built in first suburban residential districts. Hitherto second suburban was the highest class allowed. ert H. Patterson and Louis Frohlich had raised questions which interested him as to how far toward divestiture a federal court could go in a civil suit. The Judge also wondered from the bench whether the exhibitor plaintiffs in this suit — the so-called Alden-Rochell suit, — might not gain relief by an injunction which prohibited Ascap or its members from attempting to license public performance rights on music-synchronized on film to exhibitors. The court adjourned the hearing without reaching a decision, setting Oct. 15 as a date for exchange of briefs on the matter and Oct. 22 as the date to answer these briefs. The judge's thoughts about his possible right to order Ascap to divest itself of public performance rights was vigorously opposed by (Continued on Page 11)