Variety (Dec 1946)

PICTURES TTetlneBflay, December 4, 1946 Costumers and lATSE Hollywood I Reps Resign in Protest of Studio Labor s Abuses of the 'Golden Rule' Hollywood, Dec. 3. . ; Strike threat from another salient loomed today (Tuesday.) with a strike vote by the Ofl'jce Employees tnternational Union due Jate this af- ternoon, Film ■ exchange collarilcs have been asking for a 20 Co wage Increase plus improvement'in some ■working conditions. Breakdown in negotiations resulted in the ex- Vchai^gesV blariket offer of a 10% in-' crease-in present .scales. ,W5th 'exfchange collaritG."! po.'?.sibly '■wiillcing out, there's a likelihood that ihfe OEro studio employees would ankle in support.,.-■Exchanges' strike vote, ;howev^r,.: is , ricit tied directly ; to the main iiudiij /difficulties/wW were pointed-up over the weekend :'by,, the resignation of. Ted Ellsworth, business agent .of Co.';tumers Local 705, lATSE, and Roy M. Brewer. lA ' Hollywood; representative,: for tak-; ing a crack at labor's abuse of |)rivHeges. ..Ellsworth, in a' message to mem- .bership, stated: "1 as an elected lin- ion leader, can only recognize that our contract was signed because many of our friends from both the Conference of Studio Unions and Film Technicians Local 683 (lATSE) were on the picket lines. That is why I cannot be' proud of haying gained our wage increases. ""We have been forced by cir- cumstances beyond our control to accept a contract that I feel can serve no purpose except to weaken ' or perhaps even destroy our union. Brewer's blast came before the or- ganizational meeting of a permanent council of employed studio veterans. He stated it was time for union labor leaders to tell the truth to their membership and for membership to accept that truth. He said "the eco- nomic golden rule of a day's labor for a day's pay" should, be rees- tablished and pointed to John L. Lewis, in the coal, industry crisis, adding that the same conditions are .present in the film industry to a minor extent. Demands for a 20% wage increase lor employees, with a 15% decline in boxoffice already showing, would, according to Brewer, leave the studios in the red. Meanwhile, to complicate matters still further in the studio situation. "Vincente Lom- bardo Toledano, Latin American la- bor chieftain, notified Carl Head of the CSU that developing and pro- cessing of any film taken in the U.S. has been outlawed by the Cinemato- graphic Production' TJnion of Mexico during the present Hollywood labor trouble. CSU members were told by prexy :. Herbert Sorrell that picketing hours have been cut to three daily and those who wished to take outside . employment and quit picketing en- tirely could do so by paying $15 ■weekly into the strike fund for the support of their locals and Film Technicians Local 693 (lATSE) also out. U-I Pacts Joan Harrison ■ - Horiywobd, ;Dec-3. \ Joan Harrison, currently on vaca- tion in England, w'a»s signed to a producer contract: . by r' Universal- International. .":■■ ■ Miss Harrison recently, dissolved lier pact with RKO, where she pro- ducetl "Nocturne." and "They Won't Believe Me." ■ ' ■ Kordas Outlet For U.S. Release Still Undecided It appeal's fairly certain now that Sir Alexan4,6r Korda will not suc- ceed in his original intention of setting a U. S. distribution deal for his Britishrmade product before he returns to England later this month. Producer has had numerous talks in New York and on the Coast with toppers of American companies; but is understood far from having come to, an agreement on an affiliation. Principal difficulty, it is said, is the U. S. distribs' objection to han- dling films in this country only. Korda has his own releasing organi- zation, British Lion, in England, and has affiliates or ticups in a number of other countries. In view of the fact that the British market repre- sents considerable coin in distribu- tion of a film, American companies want more than average terms if they are going to have releasing privileges in the U. S. only. Korda: is now oh the Coast and will return to New York in a few days prior to going, back to Eng- land. ■ British Get Academy London, Nov. 29. England i» to have its own British Film Academy, which is to non- factional and non-political, with primary aim to enhance the prestige of the British film industry. A temporary committee has been appointed comprising Alexander Korda, Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, Carol Reed, Michael Balcon, Prank Launder, David Lean, Paul Rotha and Anthony Asquith.; : Producers Nix CSU Parley Pitch Hollywood, Dec. 3. Herbert K. Sorrell, chief of the Conference of Screen Unions, was rebuffed by the producers in 'his re- quest for parleys on a new work- ing contract. Pat Casey, studio la- bor contact, sent him the following :,wire:' ■ ■ "Replying, to your wire of Nov. 23, the producers do not believe any useful or proper purpose can be ■served by meeting with you iinill they have received effective and adequate assurances— ■'That your member unions have taken action to prevent acts of violence by their members and to prevent mass picketing and other acts in violation of court orders. "That they- have by action o£ their local and internatiLiial officers, un- qualifiedly accepted the Dec. 26, 1945, decision of the AFL Execu- tive Council Committee. "That they will abide by the July 2, 1946, wage agreement be- tween the producers and you r unions. "That they will not engage' in fur- ther work stoppages or otherwise repudiate their agreements." WB Exec Bldg. Off Lot To Give Prod. More Room Hollywood, Dec. 3. Warner Bros, plans to move all administrative offices-from the Bur- bank lot to a location nearby in order to concentrate production ac- tivities entirely on property now in use. Move will have offices across the street from the present site into a six-story elevator-equipped build- ing to be erected on the parking lot adjacent to the processing labora- tories. Building will startwith ea.sing of | present restrictions; with blueprints already okayed. New building will house executives, administrative of- fices, publicity, writers, accounting, etc. Skouras' Mexico Jaunt To Meet Joe Schenck New Orleans, Dec. 3. Spyros Skouras is slated to plane from here; to Mexico City early to- morrow tWednesday) morning. He'll join Joe Schenck there for several days confabs prior to returning to New York. Fox prexy was here yesterday and today attending the motion picture foundation organizing meetings. He was scheduled, to remain for further meetings tomorrow, but made a hur- ried, unexplained change .of plans. Tom Xjpnnors, 20th veepee over sales, ; remains, through Friday. SAG Ends Free Permits For Former Servicemen Hollywood. Dec's. ■' No-: mqre: fi'ee. three-month work- ing :perraits will be grantcfi by tlie Screen Actors Guild to w-ar veterans ' ■ft'ho were ; not: in. motion pictures .before they entered military serv- ice. Practi(te was discontinued to safeguard the interests of the 1,523 actor-vctoran.s who werc:SAG. mem- ■ bers beforp the war. Understood various drama .schools have been taking advantage of the Guild's generosity by p r o m i s i n g ticreen jobs to veterans; Total of 528 free working permits had been is- sued before the Guild called « halt Another Religious Pic May Be 'Barabbas' Novel "Barabbas," Emery ^ekessy's novel of the time of Christ, may be the next film in the cycle of religious pix started by "Going My Way" and "Bells of St. Mary's." Published by Prentice-Hall and selected by the Religious Book Club as its January selection, the book is being bid for by both Cecil B. DeMille and Sir Alexander Korda. Bekessy, now living on the Coast, has "served as a tran.sIator and writer for several of the majors. "Barabba.s" recently went into its second printing, bringing the total number of copies to 60,000within two weeks of publication. Picket Gets 90 Days, $200 Fine, Aftermath Of Fibn Strike Rioting Los- Angeles, Dec. 3. First of the pickets found guilty in the film strike riots of Oct 11 drew a sentence of 90 days in jail and a fine of $200 before Judge Byron Walters in Municipal Court. Picket was Philip Stein, a painter, who was one of the 1,300 arrested for strike' demonstration. He was released in $1,000 bail on' notice of appeal. In another section of Municipal Court, Judge Louis W. Kaufman considered the pleas of 812 demon- strators arrested during picketing at the Columbia studio. They were given until tomorrow (Wed.) to file a demurrer. Meanwhile, the Conference of Studio Unions reported a promise of support from Vincente Lombardo Toledano, president of CTM; the Mexican equivalent of CIO. Tole dano declared the film workers south of the border had agreed not to process any film exposed in the studios of the U. S. while the strike remained unsettled. Bequests to Times Fund Of some 25 bequests left to the N. Y. Times 100 Neediest Cases Fund during the past year, three legacies stemmed from the wills of a playwright, an author and the late Major Edward J. Bowe-S; ' Naming the Fund in: his will, was Edwin Burke, playwright and film writer, who died in 1944. He left a 25";'o intere.st in a trust fund of S150,000. Writer Robert Scott, at one time secretary of Funk & Wag- nails, left $1,000 to the Fund to be paid over a period of five years. Major Bowes, who died last June, also left $1,000 to the Fiind. 66 Industry Leaders Convene in N. 0. To Set Up Motion Picture Foundation J. R. Kennedy's Indie , Hollywood, Dec. 3. Jay Richard Kennedy, author of "Assigned' to Treasury'' and associ- ated in lt.<l filming with Sidney Buch- nian at Columbia, is organizing his own indie outfit to- be known as Kennedy Productions. First picture will be "Secret Serv- ice," based on official documents covering the protection of the late President: Roosevelt oil his trip to the Teheran Conference. AP Editors Get Hollywood Glad Hand at Dinner Sid Caesar Marlene Dietrich Herb Drake George Durgom Ed Gargan Edward Golden Rene Hubert Howard Krause Robert Benjamin Valerie Bctlis Henry Ginsberg . Walter Gould Mrs. A. Hornblow, Jr. Sol Hurdk Deborah Kerr Mori Krushcn L. A. to N. Y. Jack Lambert Barton MacLane Richard Mayer ■ Mike llazurke :; Frank Moran .Charles C. Moskowitz Sam Nathanson'' Robert PrWineli N. Y. to L. A. Irving La'/ar Paul Lazaru.=j, Jr, Howard I<ft.SifiJr Pat O'Brien MuMvy Orr Qiif;ntin HeynoWs . Ed«.arrl HchniixeT Mrs, Frank S«uHy Dewey Robinson Fred Sammis ■ Robert M. Savini Spyros Skouras Wilbur Stark. John Sutherland Martha Tilton Walter Wanger Arthur Wilk Alfred St;bwalberg Grad Sears Paljl .Sojfkin J. J, Ungcr Torn Waller l*w Wa«w!rrnan Max Younitman ■ ■ By BEBB GOLDEM New Orleans, Dec. 3. : Initial it^ps In setting up ari overall intra-industry charity or. ganization to care for sick and (jos. titute workers and former workers ■ in exhibition and distribution branches of :inotii)n'pictures were taken at a meeting of 66 industry leaders he^e today. Huddles wiu continue through toniorrbw evening with the expectation that 6[it ,of : them will come, fully . organized what has. been labelled The Motioii picture Foundation—an idea talked of in the trade for many yeari Business sessions with which these conclaves .. at the . Roo-^evelt Hotel: Queried; resulted: in the ap. polntment of five Coniffiittees, com- prising most of those present, which ^ immediately went to wbrk to draW . up outlines: of various phases of'the organization. Thsy were topped;by. an overall coordinating commitlee . which included Barney :Balaban,' Tom Connors, Si Fabian,; Gol, H, A; Cole, director of Allied, Fied 'Weh. renberg, head of Motion Picture ; Theatre .Owners Assn., ■ Ed; Illinois indie exhib. ' ' Other committees will work out financing, spope of activities, or- ganization and promotion and-pub- lic relations. A.Tiong membirs of finance group are Sam tyembow, Jr„ Karl HOblitzelle, Ben Kalmen- son, H. F. Klncey, Maurice Bei'gman and Sam Pirianskti: Included on the scope; committee are Jack Gbhft, Col. Cole, Ned E. Depinet, Jay Eman- uel, Leopold Friedman, Ted Gam- ble. Sidney liust. E. y, Richa^^ Spyros Skouras, Wi Ji Cerinan hiid:, Myron Blank. Among those listed for the organi- zation committee are John Balaban, Harry Brandt, Leonard Golden.son, Robert Moohrie, M. J. Mullin,; Herman Robbins, Major L. E./ at least, the eds blew Iheh- Thomp.son and Robert Wilby. Pro- motion and public relations mcludes Sherwiii Kane, Herbert Golden, Irving Lesser, Chick Lewis, Sara Shain and Maurice Barr. Richardsi Paramount pairtner in New Orleans, who is in charge of arrangements, was elected overall chairman. Committees work from an outline, which was drawn up by Louis A. Novins, assistant to Balaban, of the form the foundation might take, Novins and Goldenson consulted, among others. Dr. Raymond .Fosdick who helped found; and administer the Rockefeller Foundation. Fos-; dick commended the Motion Picture Foundation as being the first By an industry to further the welfare of its own people and predicted that it would be followed in many other lines of business. There was general agrefment that the foundation should have a real: grassroots Havor and not be cbh- trolled from New York: While dele- gates felt there should be iireat gep- graphical autonomy in administering; coin spent,; two schools of opinion are prevalent, one headed by Bala- ban, the other by Skouras, on how much of the coin collected in each area should remain there and how much should be controlled by an overall executive body. Balaban favored local groups retaining only 10%, and that merely as an; emer- gency fund. AU' regular . grants would Come from the central orgftiii- zation on recothmendation fi'om the territorial imits. Skouras, on the.' other hand, favored local organ iz?-. lions retaining 75 to 80%. The Balaban plan, or a CGriiprDm.i.se ;Clqse to it, appears almost certaiti:; oi adoption. Fundr^raisingi of course, is the biS" gest immediate' problem with whicii one Of the thtee siiggested .forms 01 organization ; to be adopted ds- terminihg how much will be ncedefl. • ; Hollywood, pec. 3. Holly wood put on .its best bib-and- tuckel- Friday (29) to entertain Asso- ciated Press managing editors, meet- ing on the Coast in their first con- vention since 1941. : In view of the touchy studio labor situation, brushed over lightly in visits to the studios earlier, in the' week, the scribes were drooling for entertain- ment by Friday, and they got it with a vengeance at a cocktail-din- ner parly in the Biltmore Bowl. Nobody made a speech extolling anybody. The .stars "poured" at the cocktailery and were spotted at tables around the terraced room, concentrating earnestly on the job of impressing; on the editor of the East Cupcake, la., Daily Bugle that Hollywood's a pretty nice place. And they apparently succeeded. Ex ternally tops over the wares displayed. Show was backed by Leo Forb^ stein and a 21-piece orch, but it was too long. It was late getting started, for one thing, as the cocktail party lasted till almost nine, and segments of the million dollars^ worth of tal- ent utilized some pretty old hat material. High spots hit by Red Skelton, Jack Benny, Jimmy Du- rante, Judy Garland, Edgar Bergen and Bob Hope more than made up for any slack in pace, however,, Greer Garson extended official greetings of Byron Price of the Mo- tion Picture Producers Assn., and Donald Nelson of the Society of In- dependent Motion Picture Producers, who sponsored the gigantic public relations aflfair. Benny and Ronald Reagan emceed, pinchhitting for George Jessel, who was ill. Durante held down the closing spot with his usual "Inka Dinka Doo"-isms, and tipofl on the classl- cal-to-corn variety of musical items contribbed was the lineup of sing- ing talent, including Jane Powell, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Sons of the Pioneers, Jerry Colonna, Tony Romano, 'Virginia O'Brien, Dick Haymes and Miss Garland. Biggest laugh of the evening, possibly, be- cause of its novelty, was the stint in which Benny, Hope, Van Johnson and George Burns came on; in ice cream suits and strawhats for ah oldtime song-and-dahce-man strut topped by a tap dance by Burns.' Among the hosts were Mary Pick- ford and Buddy Rogers, David O. Selznick, Louella Parsons, Harry M. Warner, Jimmy Cagney, Hedda Hopper, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Margaret O'Brien, Deanna Durbin, Felix Jackson, June AUyson, Dick Powell, Veronica Lake, Andre de Toth, Loretta Young, Tom Lewis, Dorothy Lamour, Eleanor Powell, Glenn Ford, Rex Harrison, Lilli Palmer, George Raft, Virginia Field, Gene Autry, Bebe Daniels, Ben I^yon, Turhan Bey, Ann Sheridan, Alan Ladd, Sue Carol, James Stew- art and Joan Davis. Joan Crawford Gets 7-Year WB Contract Hollywood, Dec. 3. Jack Warner, on the eve of his departure for Europe, inked Joan Crawford to a new contract calling for seven years with options, Currently lined up for the star on the Burbank lot are "Need For Each Other" and "White Night." . Alternatives considered are; one. all funds raised become part of a" en- dowment and only income is pended; .two, use of income wo™ endowments supplemented by a"'] nual or biennial deficit campaigns, and three, annual contribulions to provide for an annual budget sup- plemented by specific projects from the endowment fund. The first 01 the three plans, of course, wouio retjuire the largest sum of money with which to start. Methods discussed for acQuiriua coin included voluntary subscription within the industry and pel'oem?S« assessments of employees. One thmB definitely decided in the- meet was that there will be no appcf! to any,, (Continued on page a5>