Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1939)

About 50 Attend Republic Meet Say Neely Bill ” Salvation Time Limit Move Fails Houston — About 50 representatives from eight southern offices and New York and the studio attended the Republic premiere and convention here. From the exchange territories were the following: Atlanta — Arthur C. Bromberg, franchise owner; Carl Floyd, manager; A. E. Rook, Sam Wilson, George M. Jones, and Perry Spencer. Charlotte — J. H. Dillon, manager; Jack London, Marsh Funderburk, R. H. Bradley, H. P. Rhodes. Dallas — William G. Underwood and Claude Ezell, franchise owners; Lloyd Rust, manager; D. Rathbone, Grover McDonnell, Russell I. Brown, and M. Sexton. Little Rock — B. F. Busby, franchise owner; G. W. Jones and Fred Lawrence. Memphis — William M. Snelson, manager; Lloyd B. Miller. New Orleans — Leo Seicschnaydre, manager; G. Y. Harrell jr„ George Nungesser, Jack Duffy. Oklahoma City — Sol Davis and M. Loewenstein, franchise owners; Glen Alt, Eddie Greggs, F. R. Moran, Miss Ona Johnson, T. B. Noble, the latter of the State Theatre. Tampa — Henry Glover, manager, and H. G. Moore. Following the meetings, Yates and Grainger returned to New York where they will attend the eastern regional slated for the Park Central, April 12-13. Jack Bellman, Harry LaVine To Handle N. Y. Sessions New York — Jack Bellman, eastern district sales manager, and Harry LaVine, central district sales manager, will share duties in presiding at the two-day Republic eastern sales meeting which will get under way Wednesday ai-id continue through Thursday at the Park Central. Bellman will preside at the first day’s sessions and LaVine will take over the gavel for the second day. Approximately 60 home office and field representatives will attend. Franchise owners, branch managers and salesmen from eight offices in the east are included. Home office personnel and executives to attend the local two-day gatherings included: H. J. Yates, James R. Grainger, G. C. Schaefer, A1 Adams, Jack Bellman, Harry LaVine, William Saal, J. O’Connell, A. L. Pindat, Charles Jones, D. Whalen and H. Marcus. From the field, the following : Boston — 'Herman Rifkin, franchise owner; M. E. Morey, Sam Seletsky, Jack Davis, A1 Fecke, Jack Jennings, Charles Wilson. Cincinnati — Max Margolies, G. Kirby, C. Weinberg, C. Littman. Cleveland — Nat Lefton, franchise holder; A1 Lefton, S. P. Gorrel, L. Mishkind, A1 Gregg, F. Belles, J. Lefton, R. Norton. New Haven — George Rabinowitz, branch manager. New York — Herman Gluckman, franchise owner; Morris Epstein, manager; Sidney Picker, Dave Sohmer, Dave Black, Washington — Allied heads Wednesday told members of the interstate commerce subcommittee holding hearings on the Neely anti-block booking measure that the proposed trade practice code was “worthless” and that relief from “oppressive practices can be secured only by enactment of the Neely bill.” During the course of the hearing, Neely disclosed that he is a stockholder in Paramount, having bought common at $100 or more. He has received dividends, and asserted that the stock now is worth only $5 or $6. Inferentially charging that opponents of the bill were attempting to talk it to death, Neely unsuccessfully sought to have a limitation on the hearings. Fighting the combined opposition of Chairman Smith of South Carolina and Senators Barkley and White, other members of the subcommittee, Senator Neely offered to fight the issue out on the floor of the Senate if testimony was confined to a presentation by opponents of any new situation in the industry which has developed since the legislation was last considered. The West Virginia Senator, who last year secured a report on the bill without hearings and later got it through the Senate, revealed that he had not wished to hold hearings this year, and from the maneuvers which were engaged in last month it became apparent that hearings were decided upon as a result of his efforts to blast the bill out of committee and onto the floor. Urges “Friends’ ” Help The fight over procedure cropped up repeatedly during the first session, with Senator Neely appealing to his “friends in favor of the legislation” not to be too “enamored of the suggestion that we conduct interminable hearings on this bill.” “If they do,” he warned, “we will not have a chance to pass it this session.” Senator Neely suggested that the committee read the testimony of the many previous hearings on the subject, declaring there was nothing which could be added to the record. A strong plea for a thorough examination of both sides of the problem was made by Charles C. Pettijohn, general counsel for the MPPDA, who declared that the producers have been able to “lick” the Anthony Ricci, Robert Fannon. Philadelphia — Max Gillis, branch manager; F. Hammerman, G. Fishman, W. Karrer, N. Silverman, J. Lewis. Pittsburgh — James H. Alexander, franchise holder; Sam Fineberg, George Collins, H. Wheeler, L. Hanna. Washington — Sam and Jake Flax, franchise holders; Morris Oletsky, Ed Martin. The Drake Hotel, Chicago, will be the scene of the third regional, April 20-21 and this will be followed by the final session at the Empire Hotel, San Francisco, April 25-26. measure every time they have been given hearings, with the single exception of several years ago when only one member of the committee heard argument, and expressed confidence that after a complete study the committee would not report the measure favorably. Standing firm for a complete hearing, Chairman Smith confessed that this was the first time he had “been put in a position where I have seen the issues involved,” pointing out that many members may have voted blindly, “just like they complain you sell these pictures,” and asserting he wanted to know what the effect of the bill would be upon the industry and the public. Block booking deprives the local community of freedom to select its own pictures, and its elimination would be without advantage unless blind selling also is abolished, it was declared by Henry R. Atkinson, Boston, representing the Boston chapter of the Motion Picture Research Council and other groups. Delivering the opening statement for the producers, Pettijohn asserted that block booking “is merely a means of selling at wholesale and enables the smallest theatre in the smallest town to enjoy big city pictures at prices the exhibitor and his customers can pay. Without block booking,” he said, “it would be impossible to sell those exhibitors. Blind Selling “Inescapable” “Blind selling,” he continued, “is an inescapable result of production methods,” pointing out that not infrequently, after a picture is planned and offered to exhibitors and production has started, it is found necessary to change stars in order to secure an actor or actress best suited to a particular part, as in the case of David Copperfield when W. C. Fields replaced Charles Laughton as Micawber. Particularly important, Pettijohn warned, is the possible effect of adoption of the Neely bill on our picture trade in other countries — a trade, he said, which is important to industries other than the film industry itself. Many of the foreign laws adverse to American films were enacted because the showing of those pictures developed a demand for other American commodities. The question is especially live in England, he said, referring to a debate in Parliament last month. Turning his attention to Latin America, Pettijohn told the subcommittee that the American industry has gained as much in that area as it has lost in Germany and Italy. His attention called by Senator Barkley to reports that certain foreign countries were furnishing free films to South America to carry their propaganda, he admitted that was true and declared that American producers are preparing to meet that situation. The department of state is highly interested in the matter, he said, and suggested that if the subcommittee wished to go further into the question it do so privately. 20 BOXOFFICE :: April 8, 1939