Variety (Apr 1948)

IS PICT1J1IBS W«HliM!<J«y, April 14, 1948 Cohn's Compromise Col Pact Continved from PMe S . Decause of the unexpected delay. Some form of increased compensa- tion will be granted him in the in- terim by the board. Under the terms of the agreement between Cohn and the committee, Col's prexy is to receive added compen- sation the past year and the period until a new pact is signed regaM- less of action on the fiye-year con- tract. That pay boost doesn't de- pend, in any sense, on approval by stockholders. Col Prez Withdraws Offer Statement by Cohn, issued short- ly after the meeting, declared: " "Despite the overwhelming vote cast in favor of the contract I am unwilling to proceed with the con- summation of a contract which may cause even a small minority of stockholders to feel that their in- terest would be better served by some other type of deal. Accord- ingly I have withdrawn my offer embodied in the contract now be- fore the Board of Directors." Cohn cited the fact that out of a total of 638,352 shares of common outstanding, 469,184, or over 73%, voted to approve.. Only 27,199, or slightly more than 4%, voted to disapprove, whUe 22% or 149,969 failed to vote. , ,. .Contract would have upped his pay to $3,500 weekly plus $300 for expenses. Additionally, he had the right to buy 75,000 shares of com- mon at a price of $16 in graduated quantities. Terms would have been retroactive to March, 1947. Columbia stockholders' , meet vrhich pkaygd contract for Cohn stretched through several bours as Javits and William Jackman, gea-. era! manager of the. Investors League, duelled with Grant, over features of the five-year pact While Javits insisted that the stock options was levying "a tribute from helpless stockholders who can't do anything, about it," Grant, asserted that Cohn "came up with the .worst possible contract under the circmnr At several points, Javits broadly hinted at future litigation if the deal was sanctioned. Cohn already has 20% of Columbia's common stock and options for 75,000 more shares would "dilute other stockit holders' interests" by giving Cohn an additional 11%. He also con- tended that the vote would not rep- • resent stockholders' real feelings, since the independent stockholders had been "hammered into signing proxies." . Javits demanded the right to send letters to stockholders ex- plaining the opposition side and "then see what the vote is." He chorused the usual argument of dissident stockholders that no film job was so essential as to warrant "the unusually high compensation." Tags Circumstances 'Peculiar' Without offering any evidence, Javits tagged the-facts surrounding negotiations as "peculiar" because directors repping the company »in the dickering, had suggested Grant as Cohn's lawyer—"a lawyer representing adverse interests to theirs." He also contended that the meeting was not properly held, since the quorum included proxies of both Cohn and other officers and ' idirectors of Columbia. The vote Itself was attacked on the same ignrand. Grant presented a powerful fac- tual defense of the pact. He went . down the list of production heads and presidents of other majors-to show that Cohn was low man in compensation when optioni^ and profit-sharing provisions .were taken into consideration. For the past 16 years, Grant declared, Cohn had received no pay boost what- soever, while other biggies, both in and out of the company, were be- ing steadily raised. When tentative terms of the con* tract had been fixed last November, Grant saidi price for Cohn to pay on his options was fixed at $16 per share, though Columbia common was then selling at $11. This illus- trated the fairness of the deal. Grant declared, since it's cus- tomary for an option price to be several -points below the market quote. Outlining the history of negotia- tions, Grant disclosed that they had been going on for two years without any satisfactory arrange- ment before he was called in. Com- mittee of four "had most carefully considered the deal," and, as a mat- ter of law, was not required to sub- mit it to the stockholders for theii- approval. "Our intention is to ex- amine the proxies carefully to see whether there ,is represented an undercurrent of stockholder dissat- isfaction," he said. "If we're not satified, we won't go ahead." Straight pay boost was no an- swer. Grant added, because ft would do Cohn little good (because of taxes), while increasing;'the bur- den of the company disproportion- ately. A cut on profits was. tossed out because It might result in fan- tastic sums. pai4 out. Hence, the stock options. Grant scoffed at fears of stock Alution, stating that Cohn had no intention of holding the stock, but, rather, of seUing the options .and jtaMng his profit. Prior to thesquabble over Cohn's contract, all directors of Columbia were re-elected for another year. They aye Harry and Jack Cohn, Abe Montague, Schneider, Spingold, Stralem and Blanqke. Metro Salesmen Continued from pace S requisite under current conditions to find a different method of mar- keting pictures," he said.. Metro has found that allowing all filnft to stand on their oWn merits at the hoxoffice via the scale is the most equitable means of selling and the company consequently will con- centrate on that method as much as possible. Exec training course, Rodgers explained, is based on the success jMetro has had in explainmg itself and the industry to various civic 'organizations through Maurice N. Wolf, former Boston distriet man- ger. Crediting M-G exhib relations chief H. M. Richey with the idea, Rodgers said that Wolf has spoken before some 120 different Rotary dubs and other civic groups with- in the. last year, hitting some 12,000 people. He expressed the conviction that Wolf's speeches re^ suited in the attraction of many new patrons for films. Second s|ep-. in evolving the training course was the experi- ment began six months ago via three men brought ;to N.Y. from various branches to sit in on sales cabinet meetings. After six weeki^ huddles in N.Yr, the men were sent out on the road to assist the vari- ous branch staffs and to call on exhibs. That experiment met with such success, Rodgers said, that it was decided to institute an overall, training course; Metro plans to select some 12 to 18 men from the exchanges evei^ year. They'll be hrougbt to tlu! homeoffice and given a thoroui^ backgrounding in the company's business via huddles with every- one from presy Nicholas M. Schenck down. "The n^en will thus know every policy Of bur com- pany and every reason for that' policy," Rodgers said. Plan, which was first discussed at the,-recent Metro district managers meet dii the Coast, goes into effect immedi- ately, witii-the men to be selected on the basis of how they've carried out their assignments in the past. In deciding to be "more aggrej^ sive" in selling fUms on a sliding iscale, Rodgers declared such ac- tion demonstrates the^ company^s confidence in the future of the ik dustry, since "we're perfectly will- ing, during all this talk of reees- sion, to let our pictures stand on what they're capable of earning at the boxoffice." lie voiced dis- couragement at the fact that some exhibs still prefer to "barter" for pictures when they can buy them via the scale. Rodgers outlined the product he and the division managers had seen during their recent trek to the studio, expressing certainty M-G fihns, along with promising product from, other coinpanies, would give business the shot in the arm it now needs. M-Gr sales toU- per also stressed the need, for more exhibitors to take advantage* of trade screenings, declaring that "when a man can see a picture in advance, he will know better how to merchandise it, which will mean more for all concerned." Metro is still selling competl lively throughout the country and has found the isystem working out "very well," Rodgers said. He ex- plained that Metro hasn't neces- sarily profited any more but that .bidding opens up product to ex- hibs who otherwise wouldn't have a crack at it. He said there would be no more cuts in the M-G sales staff, declaring the staff is now streamlined and "down to rock bottom" in personnel. M'sPub-AdDept' levampedforNew Pub-Semce PHdi Jumping the gun on the film in- dustry public relations campaign now being prepped by both the Motion Picture Assn. of America and the Theatre Owners of AmeriT ca, 20th-Fox ad-publicity chief Charley Schlaifer has redesigned his entire department with a new look. New setup is grooved to sell 20th films and the industry gener- ally to both exhibs and the public at a more intense pitch, in order to overcome the bad publicity accord- ed the industry in the last few: months. Schlaifer emphasized that his ideas will not compete with the TOA and MPAA pub relations cam- paign, but should, in effect, help it. He emphasized, however, that he believes the time has-.come for the industry to stop selling itself wholesale and sell itself on a retail basis. Because of the general pre- dilection towards panning Holly- wood and Hollywood product that's arisen recently, it's not enough any more to sell the industry on a gen- eral basis, such as the "Movies Are Your Best Entertainment" slogan used some years ago. '|Now," he said, "we must go out and name pictures, showing specifically how and why they're good entertain- ment." In line with this, Schlaifer is set- ting up a special service bureau in the. homeoffice under the super- vision of Sari Wingart, which is to work hand-in-glove with the field staff. Thus, if an exhib asks a 2Qth field exploiteer fdr. certain infor- mation on the industry to tie into a campaign, or if he needs some stills on old pictures or old stars to run a contest of some kind, 20th -will get them for him. This idea is a result of the successful use made of the special service bureau-20th set up to handle requests for infor- mation the Sunday following the Academy Award citations this year. Another new idea instituted by Schlaifer is the establishment of a special "advertising preview" serv- ice on all 20th films. A mailing- piiece designed for some 200 key theatre operators throughout the country, the "preview" furnishes information far- in advance of re- lease date of a picture, and includes various stories on the film, stlUs and rough ads. Service is designed as a long-range, advance planning guide for exhibs in setting up cam- paigns and should be specially use- ful, according to Schlaifer, in those cases where sudden bookings or moveups of release dates unavoid- ably occur. Him Reviews continued from pAgc 8 ; Gioventu Perduta role of the investigator whose feigned love becomes true. Carta del Poggio does nicely as the de- voted sister of Stefono, and Franca Maresa is adequate as Maria, the young victim. Film was shot in authentic in- teriors, in the manner of Roberto Rossellini and Louis De Roche- mont, but photography by Carlo Montuori is class A work, as If done in the studio. Carlo Rustichelli wrote the only song, '^Hawaii," at- tractively sung by Diana Borghese. Quat U. K. Lend-lease iSs CoBtiuned from pace 9 Cnecia Tragica (Tragic Chase) (ITALIAN) Rome, March 30. Tllanua releiiso of ANPI proauotlon. Star* Andrea Chocchi, Vivl Giol, Mneslmo Oli-ottI, Ciivla del POBBlo. DIrootod by Glvisepuo De Sftntlff. Original story by Do Santlu. Carlo Uteaanl, Alberto Rem-Plool; sorconpl.iy, Do Santis, MlchelniiKOlo Antonlonl, Umberto Barbaro, Cesars Zaviittini; camera, Otellit Martelli; music, Gluaeppe Boantl, At ISu- roDa and Galleria, Bome. Runnlnsr time, Alberto Andrea Checchl. ••U\l ^ar)ene"....i Vlvl GM- MIchele Massimo filrottt Glovanna.......,.........Carla del Poggio Peaaant.. Vlttorlo Duno *'The Iiamo",... ..Umberto Sarripnntl I3ajialt..i...ii..i....,>.>....ChoccQ RiHRono Driver..;^,..4..........'vx-ii.FalCO This film won the award for the best Italian pic at the last Venice exhibition. Produced by ANPI (Na- tional Assn. of Italian Partisans) its Commtmist purposes are obvi- ous. Aside from the political angle, film is on technical and artistic side one of the best n;ade here since liberation. In U. S. it may do well for arthouses and selected situations. Story deals vrith bandits,-fascists, and collaborationists against a peasant background. A truck, carrying millions of liras 'for agri- cultural works, is attacked by out- laws and the money stolen. Peas- ants form together to arrange a general chase of the bandits. After many ups and downs, bandits are. finally besieged in their refuge Personal elements are brought in as a pair of innocent lovers are in- volved, with further complications from the bandit chief and his mis- tress. Although "Tragic Chase" is the first film made by Guiseppe De Santis, direction is absolutely un- erring. Young director has bal- anced realism and i%firement with masterly adroitness in an elebo- rate, intellectual work of extremely European taste. Characters, weU projected, are rendered equally well by leading and supporting players. Otello Martelli's lensing is firstclass, as are sets by Carlo Egidi. Giuseppe Bosati's score backs the drama very effectively. Quat. film financing, Wilson declared he added 1^ BfieMille when he returns to the Coast. Film also stars Lor- etta Young, 1947'Academy Award would unhesitating use his re- quisitioning powers in order to ac- complish maximum production. Meanwhile the National Film Pro- duction Council, with Wilsorn as its chairman, will review at future meetings the use now being made of studio space. Hie Board of Trade head has scoffed at hints that the industry's present diffl^ culties are due to the recent tax settlement. In spiking these suggestions, Wil son said, "In the early weeks of this year we paid $50,000,000 an- nually for the privilege of seeing 'Hellzapoppin' for the third time and 'Ben-Hur' for the 23rd with no way of stopping the dollar drain except by resorting to cinema closures." Present difficulties have been arising not from the tax agreement, but are a hangover from the recent unsettlement which the government topper hopes will be brought to a quick agreement as a result of the pact. An earlier session of the Cine Technicians on Saturday (10) ap- proved a resolution that the gov- ernment finance indie producers as well as start a plant to turn out raw stock. Fear that the U. S. ma- jors might cut local film-men out of the production pie was expressed by the association's general secre- tary George Elvln who told mem- bers: "We do not want our studios, or the vast, majority of them, to be acquired by American producers." his girl friend and later his wife Miss Zetterling stands out in « meaty role. Supporting piavers are good, with John Elfstrom and Douglas Hage particularly registerl ing in minor parts. Ingmar Bergman has directed brilliantly while camerawork of Goran Strindberg and Erland von Koch's musical direction maintain a general excellence. Producer Lorens Malmstedt, long noted for his b.o. clicks, has delivered aEain W "Musik I Morker." Winq. Rendezvous in Salzkanuncrgnt (Songs) (AUSTRIAN) Sasoba Film Distributing Co. relea.-ip of Vienna Mundus Film pioductlon. Htara Hoi-ta Jilnyen and Inge Konrndl; fcntnres f**""-,?""- Melnrad, lailsabctli Mar- kuB, Theodor Danoggcr, Harry Fuss. D1-. i-ci-ted by AHrsd Stoegcr. Screenplay. Altio von Plnelll; camera, Ludwlg BorL-er; muaio and niuillcal direction, Ilohert Stolz; ncto. Frits Ju«i)tnor-JonBtort At Apollo, Vienna! BunnlnB time, OS MINS, Catchy music of Robert Stolz is the saving grace of "Rendezvous in Salzkammergut." Picture's score is Stolz at his best .with three of the numbers guaranteed to entrance audiences throughout the world. Trio includes "A Littie Joddler," "You Need Only a Comrade" ("Du Brauchst Nur Elnen Kameraden") and "Never Was the Night So Beautiful" ("Nie War Die Nacht So Schoen"). Story is an illogical yarn built around two girl secretaries who lose $9.50 at the races and are forced to walk all the way from Vienna to St. Gilgen. Scripters took some poetic license at this point for the sum lost wouldn't cover the fare for the six-hour rail- road ride in the first place. Eventually the gals reach their destination falling in and out of love en route. Some of the scenes are admittedly amusing, but on the whole the plot is pretty far-fetched. Stars Herta Mayen and Inga Konradi aren't particularly photo- genic. Hans Holt and Jo.sef Mein-. rad are adequate in their support. Ludwig Berger's camerawork is not up to par, nor is the sound either, foe that matter. However, with careful editing and repairs the picture might appeal to some U.S. audiences. Moos. Music I Morker (Music In Darkness) (swxaoisH) Stockholm, March 16. Terra Film release of Iiorcna Marmatedt production. Stars Mai Zetterling, BIrgcr Malmstcn; teatures Olot WInneretrond, Hil- da Borgstrom, Naima Wifstrand, Pouglaa Hage, Bcngt Bklund, John BKstrom, Bibi Skoglund, Directed by Ingmar Bergman. Screenplay by Dagmar Edqvist, baaed on her novel, '*Mualk 1 ■ Morker." Camera, Goran .Strindberg; music, Mrlanrt von Kocli. At Royal, Stockholm, Running time, 88 MINS. ■ Ingrld Mai Zctterllne Ilengt Vyidecke. . ," Birger Malmaten The Prieet.. Olot Winnerstrand Mrs. Hclnoder ...Malma Wifstrand Agneta i ,Bibl Skoglund Lovia^ ,,, ,. .Ullda Borgstrom Kmee..,.^...., .........Douglaa Uago Klaa^an.,..............Clumiar Bjomstrand Kbbe.... Bengt Bkluna A pUnd man I-... ........,. Jobn BIfals-om Foreign Film Reviews (Vnlikely for Anglo-U. S. Market) Film version of Dagmar Edqyist's best-Selling novel, "Musik I Mor- ker," has emerged as one of the best Swedish pictures in year.s. It's a surefire grosser in Scandinavia and has good b.o..potential in the international market as well. Pic- ture picks up added values in the fine performances of co-stars Mai Zetterling and Birger Malmsten. Yarn relates the career t)f Malmsten as a blind pianist. He's a victim of a military training acci- dent. After failing to gain admis- sion to the musical acadeihy in Stockholm he's forced to eke out a drab existence as an entertainer in a cheap cafe. But life takes on a brighter aspect when a former ac- quaintance (Miss Zetterling) real- izes she loves him. Picture's underlying romantic theme is ably pointed up in the well-written script by Miss Edq- vist from her book. Unknown to the public only a year ago, Malm- sten shows genuine promise in por- traying the Sightless musician. M "I MlserabiU'" ("Lcs Mlacrables") (ITAUAN). liUX release «t Carlo PontI Pl'oduction. Stars Gino Cervl, Viilentlna c:ortesc,- Hans Hlnrloh; features Andrcina, Ptignini, Aldo Nicodemi, Lulgl ravose. Di- rected by Iticcardo Freda. Kcrceriplny, Miirlo Monlcelll, Rlccardo- Freda and Ste- fano Van-zlna from novel by VIctbr Hugo; ramera, Rodolfo Lombard!: music. Ales- Sandra CIcognlnl. At Superclnema and Odescalchi, Rome. Rnnnlng time, 180 AIINB, This seventh adaptation of Vic- tor Hugo's classic- has been pro- duced vrith no stinting of cash, and in regard to sets, costumes and lensing is of the best continental standard. - But yarn remains of doubtful interest, as it's too well known, and is without any attempt to adapt it to Modern taste. Cast, " besides, is generally unimpressive, except Hans Hinrich, who plays Javert with force. Pic is divided into two episodes, "Caccio all'uorao" ("Manhunt") and "Tempesta su Parigi" ("Stonn Over Paris"), each running 90. minutes. The - second is the better. Export values are modest, .because other pix of the same inspiration were produced in the last 15 years in France, U. S. tod Mexico. Quat. ■ "I BratelU Karninnsttv" ("The -Broth- ers Karamazov") (WAMAS). Kinclne release of Comtran production, Kinfs Fosi-o Glachetti, Kill Parvo, Marlolla !j(M\. An- drea Clioechl; features Glulio Donnlni, r^am-. berto I'icaseo, Franco Scandurra, I'aola Veneronl. Directed by Glaoomo Gcnlllom". Screenplay, Gentilomo, Gaspare Cni^aWo, Alberto Vcoohiottl, Giorgio Pala from novel by Doatoicvaky; camera, Giuseppe J.a 'J'orre; music, Ronzo Rossellini. At li'onliuin rtl Trcvl, Rome. Running time, 110 MISS. Adapted from Dostoiev.sky s novel, this film has dramatic and spectacular appeal to Italian and Latin - American audiences, but may find uncertain acceptance in the U, S. market. It isn't Russian enough for arthouse filmgoers ana not popular enough for large ex- ploitation. Cast is good, especially Giulio Donnlni, who gives a highly impressive portrayal as Smerdia- kov. Technical credits are average.