Variety (November 1954)

18 PICTURES Variety Wednesday, November XO, 1954 Dollars-ldeas Continued from page 3 By MIKE WEAR Amusement, shares, particularly. •ijcUo.-ty shares, participated in'Uic sharp: climb in the stock rparket Which followed the election; of Nov. 2. Many felt that Wall Street would be back to normal as soon as the ‘elections were out of the imost, shares sloughed off for several, .days prior to actual votingi, but few had anticipated the bullish upswing of Wednesday and Thursday,' Many shares soared.; one to; seven points, in Wednesday’s trading’, attitude being 'that .there .WaS. nothing bearish in .the elec- UFA Regrowth ;. Continued from page 2 territories, through what may be “secret alliances'- with the Bonn government. UFA. Whose initials represent Universum Film A: G.» rose under Hitler’s help to where almost no foreign films were shown in pre- World War II Germany. When the Allies came in, they closed. the UFA interests and planned postwar breakup of the enterprise. , . Ever since, the war, they have Manned dismemberment of the three-he.aded monster, (1) UFA’S ; chain of 44 theatres; -<2) the studio ‘it appears that theatremen should find' the cure for their feature- shortage migraine near at hand. Yet, some.;.execs on the production- distribution end of the business say the road , to more product, iis plenty uphill: despite the necessary ■ wherewithal. ; Reasons--‘Why These factors .are underlined: Many major companies have been financing .indies; right along;. United Artists for the past couple of years has : been setting up leriis* ing funds via the Walter Heller Co. of Chicago and N. Y, banks;. (N.Y. Stock Exchange) tipn returns, 1 called Munich-Bavaria; (3) and. the V/hlle.SUCll radio .stocks as 1 TTITA.. p'pntprs in' -Wpfit. RCA and Zenith advanced to their .best prices of 1954, numerous film issues also made an excellent, show- ing. More or less in this category was General Precision Equipment (with its -link to films' and tele) which climbed three points on Wednesday to 46%. Talk of- a Year-end extra melon-cutting arid the favorable earnings statement w ere the explanations given for the lip beat. Both classes of CBS stock hit 79 on. Thursday, ■this price;represent- ing a gain; of nearly nine points since the -rniddle of October. RCA soared .two points to a riew peak at 35 ' j 4. Zenith’s new top for the year was 79, which represented an advance of better than eight points j irice mid-October. UFA production. centers; in West Berlin and Wiesbaden. But With all the other, problems under Al- lied control the UFA settlement never got off the planning boards. The Bonn .government itself was permitted to set up its 12-man UFA Liquidation Board to dispose of the three interests separately by June, . 1955. But any one of the three, if rebuilt to its postwar ; form, cbuld endanger the German indies arid the U. S. film producers, especially if it has the backing, of- ficial br unofficial, of the West German government. An, American industry spokes-; man, who asked not to be men- tioned by name, said that the AH. lies’ recent note to the UFA liqui- dation Board was “unfortunately worded” in that it stressed that May Tip the Scales? y I m rels^son Paramount Pi*, which had ; (£A production should not be re- slipped down near 32 in recent week, came to life to push to 34% on. Thursday,: and closed at. 35 1 2 for a gain of .two : points. At this level it was -only ■•fractionally away fr m the year’s best quotation. Ear gs of .better than $1 per share, for the third quarter, pub- activated, arid that .the old UFA emblem should not be used. The production is not, at the moment, a prime problem. $4,500,000 Price . The Munich-Bavaria studio inter- ests are up for sale at a .price of about $4,500,000. In addition, the ..lish.ed last week, was responsible 1 UFA Liquidation Board claims as well as the grosses coming in] that the Gerntari government, owes from “White Christmas,” the com-,; it another $2,000,000 for keeping pany's first-released Vista-Vision j the studios in good, repair and sup- pic. Advance was tempered some- j plying new equipment over the last what it was. felt by some by the 1 nine years, since the studios have failure to boost the quarterly divvy been rented out to the German frbm 50ri. ‘ ; indies While the Allies, were decid- '-Columbia Pi climbed easily to , mg " hat to do. A large banking 27% on Thursday and gained 1% points on the week. At rcccril levels around 29 and 30, the stock has meant $4 per share for stock- holders as a result of the $1.25 cash divvy declared this fall plus two 5 r f. stock dividends. firm and a financial organization iu Germany are said to be. dicker- ing for purchase of these proper- ties, which will add to the already l'at UFA purse. The prime UFA problem to the. ( i. stock dividends. U'.S. is its' current control of 44 * I, ■ -.i.u. n«i / theatres in Germany, This number, Anolhev.star ^ Uni- seemingly , a sm i U factor 1 a the. verbal common, which went f om cou „ tl , y y 5 . 000 theatres, is actual* a Nov. 1 pnee .of to ^ 2 , the major block for the ..other film nearly .two points. advance foi the, rotlucerSi fol , it includes a large portion of firstrun houses that w eek. The company gradually has , been buying in the common so that th actual number of shares^ in the hands of the public is limited. Naturally,, on any swung, this gives, the issue that much more leverage. Dccca also pushed up around a , fbrmerly "point to 147 h.. 1 ABC-Paramount advance nearly two points to 20% at the close. The up-beat was stimulated by a revival of: reports that it was buy- ing into DuMont, Nobody ever has confirmed such reports but they were trotted out again last could control the success or fail- ure of a film in the nation'. In Hannover, a key city, it has six of the town’s: eight houses. The UFA theatre chai , it was i formerly supposed, would be broken up into groups of 10 or 12 theatres, but since it is.now being disposed of through stock sale, its power. as art integrated unit is ominous. The Theatre Owners Assn, of Germany at first opposed its continued holdings, but since some of their members are; now on There’s-some feeling in TOA circles that the theatre organ-- ization’s plan for formation of product! financing com- pany may not eve have to be put to actual .use. TOA, has full intentions of establishing the operation, of course. But, some feel, this might have the effect of spurring ma- jor studios to stepped-up pro/ duction schedules. If such a situation materializes, the TOA setup might be held" in abeyance, ; financiers abroad have beer, on the .prowl for tieUps. with Yankee ' - dependents.: “ v In other . rords, anyone with a pic property or package that had apparent' merit should not have had much difficulty in oblai ing the required money. It follows, says some industryites, that TOA, surriing its financing operation will crime to be an accomplished fact, will still face, a major problem in finding the “right” properties. . The theatre org, in seeking to | build the production'capital, has asked all exhibitors, not alone its own members, to. invest.the equiv- alent of one week's film rentals for all their theatres. In Chicago last week, “several hundred” ex- hibs signed pledges to go along with ..the idea, according to TOA counsel Herman Levy. Exec com- mittee chairman Alfred Starr, said it looks like $5,000,000 will be raised although, he added, no specific amount is being sought, The TOA board voted to place the project in the hapds of five (Quotations furnished by Dreyfus & Co,) Continued from page 3 session.' Improved theatre carn- j irigs more likely contributed to the.. fight is less intense, bullishness. Columbia Inventory Columbia’s annual report shows, the company at last June £6 had inventories of $16,914,000 and advances to outside producers, less amor- tization, of $17,627,000. Com- pleted productions not yet in release wer listed at $8,- 657.000. Col’s current and working assets were $45,375,000 and current liabilities were $?,- 679.000. trustees, these four of whom al- ready have been appointed: John A T . ., .... „ . ., , Rowley, Dallas; L. S. Hamm, San Liquidation Board, the : Francisco; Sam Pinariski, Boston, Dick Powell U’s Opticals Conli preiure is . spectacle, the high- •.type"p.ix-.s6• that * l0 £ ( light being .a clash., between the shows up on top of the image. Mongols .and the. Tartars. The] Daff said the. U policy was adopt-. [V ln . d< story , idea was originated by ; ed “So as not to prejudice, our for- . PnvuoTl Anri Ospar- ■Millar ;it- ! piuh hdcinocc '» .1 has I from pago 4.; spectacle, the Continued from page 7 and Myron Blank, Des Momes. These four are TOA reps; the fifth trustee, yet to be named, will iiot he a TOA.member. The board fur- ther voted to provide the trustees with a. loan of $5,000 to me.et or- ■ ■ ■ — Lx o ' ! ganlzation expenses in the forma- hieh 1 'f 11C - ^ lne ^ Scope " tiop of tbe financing company, j* Pix so that a wide white space- Re Col’s $10,000,000 .separate Cohn stated: .“We are aivare PovueTl and Oscar Millar was as signed to write the screenplay eigri business.’ the. so-called product shortage He explained that j ^s ^en ,and will continue to be 1 the industry s prime problem. I can think of no better way to al- ... . the company . ha.d some 19,000 milliard, is'employing his filni re- cream-of-the-crop .possibilities; search material ..to write a full-. abroad and that most of these. ^ Viale the. situation than to pro- length paperback . novel dealing houses could riot show Cinei -.! vicl e a large sum of money for the \vjtll Gchgllis Khan■ o..>. : .. . : r. .JI r. ....u- ' Qi.innnr)'. nf np\i; film. y»rr»ior»fc rinr While of Pow ..Scope in its fuii ratio'. By sticking ! support, of new film projects. Our Miil.e. waiting for the reception to the 2 to i frame within the 2.55 pwn. studio will continue to deliver his. first production eflort,! to 1 overall- picture, the telling of ! ^ program of cOrnpany-made' .ell is continuing his aetiviii : the story is. preserved, he said. | pictures. We are planning an even ihe. tv- series,. "Fpur Star Play-|, v At 20th'F f oxi Earl I. Sppnable, use.” in which, he is partnered research director, said his.spot sur- ancl David vcy of U. S. theatres showed that! intend to. supplement the studio’s greater . number of top-quality films than in the -past. But we . hpu with Charles Boyer Niven. He disclosed that getting the majority could "accommodate j program with a lihriup of the best the proper material foi- the.; weekly 2.55 to i screen ratios even though independeritly-made films we can filmed series “can drive ;riu out many are apparently unwilling to attract." of your mind,” go through the trouble or expense Columbia, of course, has been Powell plans to follow -through of .fitting in such wide screens. ah active backer of indie pix for n “The Conqueror” arid will visit The. two GincrnaScopers fbr some time; Recent.of its “outside” tlie various exchange areas “with which U lensed protective versions entries include “On the Wcjter- Ihe of film under my ann.” ■ “Black Shield of Falworth” front,” “Paratrooper” and “Hell- IIo said the picture will have to arid “Sign. of the Pagan.” Com- Below Zero.” Arid deals for future gr about. $10,000,000 to break .bined cost of lensirig tlie extra edi- indie alignments have been in dis- , tions ran to about $600,000. i cussion right along. the operation will be on a world- wide basis. Hyman reported the program in- cludes 24 features which were ac- quired from London Films on a “flat” deal involving , a cash pay- ment of over $500,000. All new to the TJ. S., these will be peddled to exhibitors via a distribution net- work which Hyman is now setting up arid a couple of years hence will be Jnade available to telecasterS.. The plan cjearly is one of the most ambitious projects intermin- gling the playoff of pic product in theatres and tv. The 24 British pix include on the player rosters some Of England’s top names and; credits include productions iby Herbert Wilcox and Leiyis Milestone and properties based On works by Gra- ham Gxeerie, J. B. Priestley and Somerset Maugham. Associated’s lineup also includes theatrical reissue and tv rights to 14 films originally released by United Artists and, in the case of a couple of them, by 20th-Fox and -RKO. Two, “The Second Face” and “The Scarf,” were taken from the Bank of Ai •' . Titles of others in this group include “Syncopa- tion,” Alex Gottlieb's “The Fight- er,” “Lucky Nick Cain,” “The Big Night,” “Chicago Calling,” “Once a Thief’ and “Park Row.” Hyman said he bought outright from Emil Jensen, onetime part- ner of Joseph M. Schenck in the industry's early days, a package of oldies which he plans to book in repertory under the title, “Hall of Fame Classics ” These include “Son of the Sheik,” with Rudolph Valen- tino and Vilma Banky; “Reaching for the Moon,” Douglas Fairbanks; “Be Yourself,” with Fanny Brice arid “The Swan” \yith Gloria Swan- son, This series, is set to open shortly at N. Y.’S: Fifth Avenue I.Playhouse. j Associated, said Hymarii, now has (the following for tv for ail coun- tries: all DOuglas, Fairbanks en- tries completed and still to be pro- duced; the “.Candid Camera” se- ries with Allen Funt, comprising 89 half-hour shows, and 100 quar- ter-hour segriients; 39 “Johnny Jupiter” half-hour episodes; 12 “Sierlock Holmes” features star- ring Basil Rathbone and Nigel ' Briace r previously released theatric ! cally by Universal; 199. Monogram } features (for foreign tv territories); and 83 Spanish and 40 Western Germany features which will; be dubbed into English. The “Sherlock Holmes”, pix, in^ ! cidentaily, were first;acquired from !U by James Mulvey, president, of j Samuel Goldwyn Productions.. He sold them to Motion Pictures for Television, headed by Matty Fox, who in turn relinquished them, to Hyman. . Associated’s homeoffice has been opened in N. Y. and, said Hyman, negotiations are underway for the establishment of regional distribu- tion offices in Chicago, Dallas, Bos- ton, Philadelphia, Washington* L. A., San Francisco, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Charlotte. . Hyman. is. president. Others in- clude Kenneth Hyman, v.p.; Sam- uel .Haims, coritroller : tr easu r er; Jacques Kopfstein, domestic dis- tribution chief; Norman Katz, for-: eign sales head, and Herbert Richek, head of booking departs ment. Continued from page 7 mined the manner of negotiations, and under this .arrangement every local group, is bound by the na- tional pact that Walsh makes and does not have the right of approval of disapproval. Last year the ex- change groups conducted the talks on their own, holding individual negotiations with the film com- panies. Since the exchange unions have long beefed at the pacts concluded by ‘ the IA international, the defec-. tion of the S. F. exchangeites is being observed carefully. The film companies' stake in the mat- ter is evidenced by the fact that they’re sending their top. labor negotiators to the NLRB hearing, with Arthur; Israel, for example, representing Paramount. ;, A similar disaffiliation ; move was contemplated, last year by Local H-63, the Ne\V York white collar, ion, but it withdrew it*, action after reportedly receiving; assurances: of closer cooperation from the IA International. Belated Ban of ‘Ecstasy’ Chicago, Nov. 9. “Ecstasy,” famous for Hedy Lamar nude scene and a perennial reissue , in. this town, has been nixed for exhibition here by Po- lice Censor Board which took the. pic . lip for fe-review recently. Board decided on a second peek when an exhib, who purchased the pic,, applied for the permit the pic has held for. many years. Recent French entry, “Le Plai- sir,” was also banned by the morals watchdogs.