Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1948)

MGM Schedules 27 Pictures for 194S Arthur Levey Says British Theatres Paid 25c Per Seat for Tele in '39 NEW YORK — Arthur Levey, president of Scophony Corp. of America, contributes an illuminating sidelight on the current discussion of television in theatres by pointing out that the principle of buying exclusive television screen rights to sporting events was established in London early in 1939. Sports promoters were paid 25 cents per seat for the theatre rights. The Odeon Theatre, 2,000 seats, charged one pound top, equivalent to $5, and the Monseignor Theatre, a 75'0-seat newsreel house, charged $2.50 top. Both houses played to capacity during the running of the Derby on a screen 20 feet wide. Both houses used the Scophony supersonic projectors. The projectors were installed at the Odeon and Monseignor Feb. 10, 1939, and continued in use until September 2 when the BBC television transmissions were stopped by the outbreak of war. Several events were picked up each week to supplement film programs and boxoffice returns jumped, Levey states. Twenty-five cents per seat was paid to the promoters of the Armstrong-Roderick championship fight. Boxoffice receipts increased nearly 300 per cent by charging $5 top at the Odeon and $2.50 at the Monseignor. Scophony has been one of the defendants in an antitrust suit in this country since Dec. 18, 1945. Levey predicts early settlement of this suit through a consent decree and the start of production of Scophony apparatus. Big Campaign Is Started For Johnston's Book NEW YORK — Eric Johnston's new book, “We’re All In It,” is being given a heavy advertising campaign in newspapers and magazines by E. P. Dutton & Co., the publishers. Sunday editions of newspapers are giving it space, too, in their review columns. The large six-column newspaper ads start off: “Eric Johnston brushes away the cobwebs of diplomatic double-talk and shows why foreign policy is everybody’s business.” Johnston’s recent European trip during which he interviewed government heads all the way from Moscow to Madrid, plus three stories emanating from Paris, that he might be appointed to a cabinet post in Dewey’s expected cabinet may have been a buildup for the book, film publicists agree. Fifth Stockholder Files Suit Against Warners NEW YORK— Edward S. Birn, Warner Bros, minority stockholder, filed a suit in U.S. district court November 16 against United States Pictures, Warner Bros., Joseph Bernhard, Robert W. Perkins, Milton Sperling, Harry M. Warner, Jack L. Warner and Morris Wolf. The suit asks for an accounting of a production-distribution deal between United States Pictures and Warners, made in 1945, which is alleged to be detrimental to the latter. This is the fifth stockholder suit filed against the same plaintiffs since September 20. Kreisler Says State Dept. Should Aid Film Business NEW YORK — Until the cooperation of the State department is obtained American films abroad are in “grave jeopardy,” says Bernard Kreisler, who recently returned from a 13month study of the industry in 17 European countries for the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. “All European countries are taking greater recognition of pictures as an economic and propaganda medium. In many of these countries the industry is now being subsidized or trade barriers are being erected against films made in other countries,” he says. “This calls for a greater cooperation between our State department and the American motion picture industry. Unless this is done quickly, the future of our films is in grave jeopardy.” Kreisler is now compiling his report. Eastman Votes Stock, Wage Dividends ROCHESTER — Eastman Kodak directors have voted a dividend of one share of common for each 20 shares held. This stock dividend is in addition to the cash dividend of 50 cents per share payable January 3 to stockholders of record December 6. This cash dividend brings the total for the year on the common to $1.60, which is the same as for 1947. The usual IV2 per cent dividend on the preferred also was voted at the same time, bringing the total payments for the year to $1,50. At the same time the board decided on a record-breaking wage dividend estimated at $13,000,000 for about 51,500 employes in the western hemisphere. This is the largest wage dividend in the history of the company. It wall be paid next March. Eligible employes will receive $22.50 for each $1,000 earned during 1944 through 1948. Of the total wage dividend about $9,000,000 will go to employes in Rochester. A company executive explained the stock dividend by saying that cash dividends had been held to a conservative basis, because of the prospective need for working capital. The new issue will total to approximately 619,000 shares, as the company now has 12,380,065 common shares outstanding and 61,145 in the treasury. Albert Spalter to Handle French, Italian Films NEW YORK — Albert Spalter has formed Spalter International Pictures, Inc,, with headquarters in New York, for the distribution of French and Italian films. Spalter has just returned from a trip to Paris and Milan where he closed deals for four French features, “Love for Sale,” “Remuntcho,” “Figaro of Seville” and “Souvenirs of Romance,” and six Italian films. The French films are now being edited and titled here. The Italian films will arrive in New York before 1949, according to Spalter. NEW YORK — MGM will make approximately 27 pictures for the year 1949, six more than were produced during 1948, according to Dore Schary. executive in charge of production. The cost of the average A picture will be no more than $1,700,000 in the future while the average A made in 1948 cost close to $2,000,000. The current backlog is 20 completed features and four more still in production. Schary, who arrived November 15 for five days of conferences with Nicholas M. Schenck and other home office executives, anticipates no slowdown at the MGM studio. He believes the shutdowns at other studios are due to their larger backlogs and smaller yearly releasing schedules. While MGM will continue to make some of the documentary-type films as well as a few minor pictures with lesser star names, Schary believes that star values are still important at the boxoffice. If a mediocre multi-starred film is playing next door to a picture like "The Search,” the public will crowd in to the star picture in preference to the latter, even if they have read or heard that it is an exceptional film, he said. MGM will also continue to make eight to ten elaborate musicals, most of them in Technicolor, because the public has proved that it likes them. The use of Technicolor adds 15 to 22 per cent to the cost of a film, Schary said. MGM is also constantly reexamining its huge backlog of story properties, which numbers close to 1,000 titles, and preparing revised synopsis on books, plays, etc., which have been on the shelf for years. However, the only remake on the current program is “Little Women,” originally filmed by RKO in 1933. Fewer original screenplays are turning up, Schary said. Among the most promising younger MGM players, Schary mentioned Janet Leigh, Arlene Dahl and Harold Keel, young singing star of “Oklahoma!” who has been signed for “Annie Get Your Gun.” He was scheduled to return to the coast Friday (19). Syndicate Plans to Buy Adolph Zukor Estate NEW YORK — A syndicate of prominent businessmen, including A. J. Balaban of the Roxy Theatre and Emil Friedlander, chairman of the board, of Dazian’s, Inc., has been organized to purchase the entire Adolph Zukor estate of 800 acres in Rockland county, N. Y. Other members of the syndicate are: Benjamin S. Thaw, owner of Cavanagh’s and the new Cardinal restaurant in New York City; Bernard G. Nemeroff, chairman of the board of Womrath Bookshops and Libraries, Inc., and Jack Abrams, president of the Mountainview Golf and Country Club, which is located on the site. The syndicate plans to improve the golf course and to operate the golf and country club facilities on a membership basis as in the past few years. The purchasers also plan to eventually build a summer community of small homes. Earlier this year, Zukor announced plans to subdivide the land into small acreage plots and build a number of ranch-type homes. The syndicate is represented by Nemeroff, Jelline, Danzig and Paley, according to the Title Guarantee & Trust Co., which is examining the title. 50 BOXOFFICE :: November 20, 1948