Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1937)

ARBITRARY ASSESSMENT DOWNED Mich. Censorship Bill Is Introduced Lansing, Mich. — With only a few weeks left to the present legislative session here, a bill providing for state censorship of motion pictures has been introduced into the legislature by Representative Joseph P. Martin of Detroit. Martin claims the backing of the Legion of Decency and Knights of Columbus for his bill. The bill would provide for a board of censors of five members, who would preview every film to be shown in the state. Their salaries would be paid, it is understood, out of the fees paid by the distributing companies for the work of the censors. As introduced, the bill provides for previewing of films both in Lansing and Detroit. New Building Rules Bill The industry has begun a concerted fight against the bill and there is little likelihood of its passage. Aiding in the fight against it are H. M. Richey of Allied, Butterfield Theatres and United Detroit Theatres. Another bill introduced here this week is one providing that all theatres built hereafter must have concrete floors, concrete stairways and all-steel or concrete fire escapes. Monogram Is Host Detroit — Monogram Pictures will be officially opened in Michigan Monday when S. K. Decker, Bill Hurlbut and Jack Saxe are hosts to exhibitors at the open house of the new company. The reception will be held in the exchange quarters on the fifth floor of the film exchange building. "HIT PARADE" INTO DETROIT FIRST-RUN Detroit — Republic’s newest hit, “The Hit Parade,” has been booked for showing first-run shortly at the Fox Theatre here. Flint Operators Attain 100% Unionization Flint, Mich. — Applications of operators in the 11 theatres which recently completed negotiations to join the lATSE group here have been mailed for approval to the international headquarters in Washington. When these are returned, the local union will be employed 100 per cent by all theatres in Flint. Roger Kennedy, business agent for the lATSE local in Detroit, who negotiated with representatives of the local exhibitors, said that the completed deal will probably be signed within the next two weeks. All details, not made known though, have been settled amicably. N. A. WOODFORD IS DETROIT RCA HEAD Detroit — N. A. Woodford of Seattle is the new district manager of RCA here, taking the place of Sidney D. Camper, who was recently promoted to be zone manager of the company with offices in Chicago. Woodford held the same post he has here while in the northwest. Woodford, L. Roy Cox, Photophone representative in this territory; and Jack Waugh, local service head, were in Indianapolis this week attending the Photophone convention there. Prom there Woodford and Cox left to attend the RCA company convention which opens Sunday in Chicago. Miss Elizabeth Gatfield is the new RCA office secretary. WB Ups Smeltzer New York — Robert Smeltzer, mid-Atlantic district manager with headquarters in Washington, D. C., was given added duties at the Warner convention here Monday. In addition to his supervision of the Washington and Philadelphia branches, he henceforth will be responsible for Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Detroit. Tax Statements as Filed by Detroit Exchanges Are Upheld By GENE RICH Detroit — A victory determining the method of assessing personal property taxes on exchanges for film stored in vaults was won here this week by the distributing companies. The case, argued principally before the city council board of review by David Newman, attorney for the majority of the exchanges, resulted in a saving of thousands of dollars annually to the companies. Rejected Tax Statements The board of assessors of Detroit, after failing to accept personal property tax statements filed by the companies, none of which was over $20,000, arbitrarily assessed from $100,000 on the independent groups, up to $500,000 on the major exchanges. Paramount is understood to have received the top figure, while others included M-G-M, $300,000; and Columbia and Universal, $200,000 each. Had the companies agreed to these figures their taxes would have mounted considerably. Uninterested observers told Boxoffice that other cities throughout the country would probably have followed Detroit’s action, had the local attempt been successful. Assess on Potentiality Basis The assessors and city council groups argued that “property that will produce the income that these pictures produce has a greater value than the material and labor that goes into the making of the film itself.” It was in this manner that the excessive amounts were assessed. The exchanges filed their statements on the basis of one and one-half cents a foot, representing the cost of raw material, plus the labor that it takes to develop the picture from the negative to the positive: M-G-M, $8,900; Columbia, $1,560; Excellent, $1,240; 20th Century-Fox, $16,740, and United Artists, $5,920. Exchange Figures Upheld Following the argument by Newman, who was assisted by Rockwell T. Gust, the (Continued on page 69) MIDEAST EDITION Is One of the Seven Sectional Editions in Which BOXOFFICE Is Published Weekly. The Other Six Editions Are: NEW ENGLAND, CENTRAL, MIDWEST, WESTERN, SOUTHERN, EASTERN. ELSIE LOEB. 12805 Cedar Road, Cleveland Heights, Ohio. R. F. KLINGENSMITH, 1701 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh, Pa. EUGENE D. RICH, 2125 Cass Ave., Detroit, Mich., Phone Randolph 7978. CLARA HYDE, 127 Tremont St., Ft. Thomas. Ky., Phone Highland 1657.