Variety (Apr 1949)

22 PICTVaBS iTcJiieaciayv Aygil 13^, 1949 Par Spiitup Okayed Continued ■ from p«l* -I { nership chains. Par will receive $2,000,000 in cash and notes on dissolution of one 72-theatre cir- cuit. Moreover, so far as this un- disclosed chain is concernedr Par £ets 14 houses outright with earn- ings of approximately 50% of the entire circuit. Goldenson said another chain had been dissolved with Par get- ting three out of 15 houses which also spelled 50% earnings. It is ■ believed the Dominion. (Hunter Perry) chain was referred to. The new unit will announce sale of all theatres made available under the decree.: Goldenson said^ and an opportunity would be; given for the highest bidder to take the ■ houses ■ lAiXLt Resistance Very few needling questions were , asked by stockholders. Most sought, information on the effects at stock restrictions and advice on which of the two companies would be the, best bet. Management steered clear of the latter queries. Edwin L. Weisl, Par director, predicted an end to all .stock re- . .strictions within two years of Jan. ' 1, 1950, date reorganization goes ' Into effect Weisl also said that be proposed a plan whereby. the parent company would buy up shares which stockholders wished to unload, thereby saving brokers' charges. . Goldenson sees an annual profit of $10,000,000 for the new 650- theatre company if business holds along present lines. The wholly- owned houses earned $11,000,000' last year, he said, and the sale of 69 theatres would mean a dip of $750,000-$1,000,000. Par's policy of buying up its own stock on the open market will con- tinue even after th'e production- distribution comtiany loses its theatre wing, Weisl said. AH cash above normal operating and dividend requirements plus that | garnered through theatre sales will apparently be grooved for that purpose. Between Nov. 11, 1946 and April 11, 1949, some 905,433 shares were picked up at a cost of $22,158,000. During the same period, $37,000,000 in dividends were paid out "without materially impairing our current position."' With stockholder approval out of the way, listing of both shares on the New York stock exchange on a when-issued basis is expected today (Wed.)« Various intra-^dm- pany agreements must be drawn; PAR-PARTNERED PENNSY THEATRE APPEALS CASE Harry Norman Ball, trustee of an estate operating the State the- atre, Ambridge, Pa., last week won the right to appeal to the U. S. Supreme Court in an anti-trust suit involving the house, which is 50% owned by Paramount. A three- judge statutory court in N. Y. fed- eral court reversed a previous de- nial. In filing an assignment of errors, the petitioner claimed the court erred by entering the Par- amount coihsent decree March 3 Without clarifying: :the issues afifectr ing the .State theatre.- Ball also argued that the court erred when it refused to permit him to intervene for purposes of proving the first-run State had been-used for monopolistic prac- tices, and "was and is an illegal fruit of monopoly." Petitioner also has a suit in western Pennsylvania federal court, for injunctive relief, held in "abeyance by the U. S. Cir- cuit Court of Appeals for the third circuit. MPAA-Exhib Bally Tieup Continued from pa(« 5 \ Fine's 25th Cleveland, April 12, Associated circuit (Myer B. Fine) opening 25th new hoiise April 21, the Avon Lake, 1,200-seater, being completed in nearby Avon Lake, O, Preview for city's officials and press put on last Friday (8) bjr Sid Holland, circuit rep. took on the ^hole matter was in naming committeet to try to work it out. An exhibitor relations and a commudfty relations unit was ap- pointed, : both headed by Ned E. Depinet, RKO prexy,. Serving with Depinet on the exhib group are Harry Kalmine, Warner Bros, theatre topper; Austin C. Keough, Paramount counsel, and William F. RodgerSi Metro's v.p. in charge of distribution.' ' Committees Working with Depinet in com- munity -relations will be Leon J. Bambergert RKO; Maurice Berg- man, Universal; Steve Edwards, Republic; Harry Goldberg^ WB; Edward Morey, Monogram-Allied Artists;. Louis A. Novins, Par; Henderson M. Richey; M-Gj Sam ShaiUi 20tb, and. a. Columbia rep to be named later. Tieup of the two committees un- der one chairman gives a hint of the plan to take over the TOA public relations job since , that was largely a / matter of Improving community relations via better ex- hib tieups. Theatremen were pro- vided with newspaper material and speeches. Instead of having a p.a.- come in from the outside/ ex- hib planted bis own stuff locally. LADIES FASHKm SHOW VARIETY MOVIE BALL HUMANITARIAN AW/mD DfNNCR LADIES TAttlTIAN NITE AND ASjUACAOE vmerv ROUND-UP A : GOLF - RACES TRIP AROUND S.F.BAY VARIETY FROUCS Speeches were set up so that he (fould make them himself or have his manager make them from the stage of the theatre or so that they could be used at civic and fraternal lunches. In the latter case, the exhib could make the'talk himself or possibly promote, some prominent locahte to make ' tho pitch for him. TOA campaign was rated as highly successful, but cost con- siderable coin and was not planned as a permanent endeavor. MPAA therefore, is looking with interest on picking up where the TOA left off and sharing the bill with the theatremen. Palfreyman's Exit . One of the angles of switching exhib relations to Harmon's aegis might well be the retirement of David Palfreyman, who has han- dled theatre contacts for the MPAA since 1929. He and Har- mon are known long to have been at loggerheads and it was partially this situation which resulted in his headquarters being switched from New York to Washington a few years ago. Exhib reaction so far to the plan of hooking up with the MPAA is all wait-and-see. Theatremen are pretty much in the, dark as yet on What responsibilities and advan- tages, the move would entail. One remarked,Monday (11), however: "I don't quite see how they expect to get exhibitors in when they can't even hold on to the inde- pendent producers." - Reference was to the recent battle between Johnston and Samuel Goldwyn, when the latter pulled out of the MPAA to give his whole allegiance to the Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers. Variety Clubs i Continued from page T , nent and solidly-based program set up for financing the institution. Meantime, $260,000 is being held in escrow for the hospital. This represents the take on a raffle run under the guidance of major com- pany sales managers last year. Va- riety won't accept the funds, nor will it officially take over the in- stitution, until the majors agree to give their support while the new financing is bein^ set up. According to one of the clUb execs, it was only in the nature of a good turn to the sales man- agers, who; had taken charge of the hospital to keep it open wlien it ran into financial difficulties, that Variety agreed to step in. Varielv Club toppers are now burned at being forced into the position of seemingly.going with hat in liand to the companies it agreed to re- lieve of the burden. Last week's trio of Variety reps is said to have haid-to-wait almost-six months-just— to get the opportunity of putting the proposition to the MPAA board. There was opposition to further contributions, however, by only one member of the director- ate, so it is expected that there will be a favorable vote. Some com- panies have been giving $1,000 a month and others $500. Hospital, at Saranac, N. Y, now has a population of only about 30 patients as result of its financial difficulties. However, a long list of applications is pending. Insti- tutioji is said to be most in need at the moment of expenditure of about $100,000 for refjageratiott, and X-ray equipment. Anti-U. S. Quota ss Continued from page 6 ;= ticable. (End of discrimination and full bilateral trade). Progress to- ward this objective during the last year has been real, but a point has not . yet been "reached. where; it. would be possible for European countries to achieve a balance in their dollar payments without care- ful conservation of their dollai* earnings supplemented by as.si.st- ance from the United States." Meanwhile, the California con- gressional committee, named to go into the, pix situation^ met la.'it; week with Webb and outlined the views of the legislators about one of theft state's great industrie.'? and its problems in Britain. It w:is an- other of those polite session.s wiiith meant nothing. The Calilornians are also planning to coni'er with Secretary of State Dean Acheson.