Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1939)

Voluntary Signing of Federal Assistance in Drive Arbitration Problem Against Film Trafficking New York — An important factor to be disposed of before the arbitration setup can become effective, is how to get independent exhibitors to voluntarily sign the arbitration provision. The subject, among others, was discussed at the all-day Monday session at the Astor by sales managers and attorneys. Engaged in the dissertation on arbitration, its good points and bad, were Tyree Dillard jr. of M-G-M’s legal staff; I. Howard Levinson of Warner’s home office legal battery, and Felix Jenkins, general counsel for 20th-Fox. No solution was arrived at and it is expected to take some time before all of the kinks on arbitration are ironed out to the satisfaction of all the lawyers. Because of the supreme court decision on the standard contract ruling compulsory arbitration illegal, industry lawyers are proceeding with caution so as not to poach on interstate statutes again. Dillard formerly was with the NRA and later joined Campi as legal advisor to John C. Flinn, then executive secretary. In his capacity, Dillard became somewhat of an authority on arbitration as practiced under the Blue Eagle. Levinson has been second to Robert W. Perkins in the handling of anti-trust and arbitration proceedings for Warners. He spent some months in St. Louis with Perkins on the anti-trust suit there in 1935 and has been to Chicago on the government and monopoly suits filed against majors and B&K. There is no telling when the pact, if and when approved, will become effective, according to spokesmen, and one guess is as good as another, they say. Nine RKO Houses Will Darken lor Summer New York — RKO will darken nine theatres for the summer in conformity with the circuit’s warm weather policy. The number is under the summer closings last year when local projectionist’s conditions forced numerous shutterings due to unions’ stand in the matter of wages. Houses that will close and dates follow: Strand, Syracuse, May 26; Trent, Trenton, May 28; Albee, Providence and Majestic, Columbus, May 31; Orpheum, Kansas City, June 1; Central, Yonkers, June 4; Orpheum, Champagne, 111., June 11, and Alden, Jamaica, L. I., June 25. The house to be closed in Rochester, N. Y., where the circuit operates five units, and the date of closing, has not been fixed. The Palace, Cleveland, discontinues vaudeville for the summer June 1. The house will continue to operate with singles. May Delay Trip Hollywood — Accompanied by Jay Paley, Joseph M. Schenck, chairman of the 20th-Fox board, arrived here by plane from New York with an infected foot. Although he had planned to return east in about two weeks, the injury to his foot apparently will delay his trip indefinitely. Brandi Asks Columbia Dating Concession New York — Seeking to force Columbia to deliver pictures to the Schuyler day and date with the Arden, both upper Manhattan houses, Harry Brandt has brought an action to enjoin the distributor from supplying product to the latter situation. The motion is to be argued in supreme court May 24. Brandt books the Schuyler, which is at 83rd St. and Columbus Ave. The Arden, at 104th St. and Columbus Ave., is operated by William Kaster. Brandt claims Columbia has refused to make film available for his house in accordance with a contract which calls for day and date availability with the Arden. The incident is an upshot of a mild controversy last fall. At that time, it is said, all major exchanges here made independent surveys to determine if the two houses were in competition. The verdict was said to be that they were not. Henceforth, informed sources say, Brandt made it a condition of his Columbia contract that the company make product available day and date with the Arden if the other majors did likewise. According to exchange spokesmen, Universal, 20th Century-Fox, M-G-M, RKO and Columbia are serving the Arden seven days ahead of the Schuyler. Warner and UA are said to be making films available day and date to both houses, while Paramount is serving the Schuyler ahead of the Arden because the latter has not bought Paramount product. WB Debenture Payments Are Due on June 29 New York — Holders and registered owners of Warner Bros. Pictures. Inc., optional six per cent convertible debentures, series due 1939, have been notified the principal amount called for will become due and is payable June 29, together with interest from March 1, 1939. Interest on the debentures will cease after June 29. The right of the holders of the debentures to convert them into common stock ceases on June 24, the company declares. Warner has granted the right to exchange the debentures for an equal principal amount of the corporation’s six per cent debentures, due in 1948. Ballyhoo Front Ruled a Part of Real Estate Atlantic City — The ballyhoo front on a theatre is part of the real estate, not the personal property of the persons leasing the house. That was the ruling of ViceChancellor Sooy, regarding the $20,000 front on the Strand in a mortgage suit won by an insurance company. New York — For the first time, local, state and government authorities have joined hands with the industry in the drive on bootleg and illegal trafficking in duped and stolen prints, according to Jack Levin, director of the Copyright Protection Bureau. Through a vast system of integrated channels, the CPB declares it has succeeded in revealing some of the sources of supply in the bootleg print racket with the result that R. E. Gregg, a distributor who operates the Pan-American Laboratory in Chicago pleaded guilty to four counts of an indictment. He comes up for sentence before Judge Philip L. Sullivan in Chicago May 19. Levin succeeded in obtaining the cooperation of J. Edgar Hoover of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, on the ground that unauthorized exhibitions were in violation of interstate commerce. With eight agents assigned to the investigation, which began a year ago, the trail led through New York, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Virginia, Iowa, New Mexico, West Virginia and Indiana. CPB asserts bootleg distributors, as well as laboratories, were uncovered in Traverse City, Mich., and Cincinnati. The bureau says it found that not only 35mm, but also 16mm duped prints, as well as those that were thought to have been junked, were being circulated among theatres. Other violations, such as storing prints in garages, which is in violation of fire laws, the removal of original titles and the insertion of dummy titles, and the presence of spurious seals where censorship exists were unearthed and halted, it adds. As described by Levin, this is the manner in which the violations which were brought to the attention of the CPB were tracked down: A complaint made by an exhibitor to his local organization was ultimately referred to G. L. Hess, MPPDA counsel. Hess notified the home office of the firm involved. The distributor then turned over all necessary data to the CPB. The first step of the CPB was to determine through the local fire department if there was any violation of fire laws. Then to the censor board. Local police were called in. If necessary, cooperation of state police was sought. The next step was to Washington, where G-men, under Hoover, were assigned to the case. Where violators were apprehended, indictments were handed up by the district attorney and sentencing placed in the hands of a federal judge. George Walsh Chairman Ol Netco's Goli Meet Newburgh, N. Y. — George C. Walsh, operating head of Necto Theatres of Poughkeepsie, is chairman of the third annual golf tournament for the circuit’s managers. The tee-off is set for Wednesday, June 14, at Powelton Country Club here with dinner scheduled for 7 p. m. at Ship Lantern’s Inn, Milton, N. Y. BOXOFFICE :: May 20, 1939 21