The Exhibitor (1952)

10 EXHIBITOR SAG Backs Trade’s Fight In 1 6mm. Action Says Suit "Jeopardizes" Livelihood Of 250,000 Workers In The Industry Hollywood — The Screen Actors Guild last week lined up with the rest of the industry in contesting the anti-trust action filed last month by the Department of Justice to force the release of 16mm. product. The Guild’s executive board warned that the suit “jeopardizes the livelihood of 250,000 workers in the film industry” because if it is successful “a great many of the 22,000 motion picture theatres would be forced to close.” The SAG announced that it will request the executive council of the American Feder¬ ation of Labor to “investigate the govern¬ ment’s action,” and, at the same time, the SAG suggested that “more films be made specially for TV.” As to the release to TV of theatrical films which have exhausted their boxoffice possibilities, the guild said it recog¬ nizes that such films “may go into tele¬ vision pi'ovided that the producer of the picture sells the TV rights of his own free will, and not under government com¬ pulsion, and that the actors in such films receive additional compensation for their television rights.” In Columbus, O., the Independent The¬ atre Owners of Ohio passed a resolution voicing “emphatic protest” against the government’s 16mm. suit. The resolution stated, “No ‘reasonable’ amount of clear¬ ance is asked by the government bebetween theatrical showings of these pictures and their free showings on television or by other competitive enter¬ prises would protect the theatres’ invest¬ ments. This suit is an unjust and unreas¬ onable attempt by the government to give one industry an advantage over another.” Long Island House Sues New York — Lavellon Amusement Cor¬ poration, operating the Criterion, East Rockaway, L. I., last week filed a $1,050,000 treble damage anti-trust suit in U. S. District Court against RKO, War¬ ners, 20th-Fox, U-I, and Century The¬ atres, charging that the defendant dis¬ tributors discriminated against the Cri¬ terion by giving preferential bookings to Century houses in surrounding areas not in competition with the plaintiff. Lavellon filed a similar suit last year, charging it was discriminated against on clearance under Loew’s split, but the action was discontinued when the Cri¬ terion received a seven-day clearance. It is now claimed that the distributors named have pushed the Criterion clearance back to 14 days. New Unit Joins COMPO New York — Application for membership in COMPO has been made by the Theatre Owners of Washington, Northern Idaho, and Alaska, it was announced last week by COMPO headquarters. The application was made in a letter from J. M. Hone, executive secretary. Pictured at the recent world premiere of Warners' "The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima," Astor, New York City, are, from left, Jose Manuel da Silva Bettencourt Ferreira, consul general of Portugal; Major Albert Warner; Sherry Jackson, starred in the picture, and the wife of the consul general. National Theatres Files Data With SEC Washington — The Securities and Ex¬ change Commission was advised last fort¬ night by National Theatres that, following the example of 20th-Fox, it is reserving the right to change, amend or discon¬ tinue its cooperative employes retirement plan following completion on Sept. 27 of the two companies’ divorcement and re¬ organization. NT also informed the SEC that it was registering 2,769,486 shares of common on the New York Stock Ex¬ change at a par value of $1 per share. Under the plan of reorganization, Na¬ tional Theatres, to be known as Wesco Theatres, in exchange for the transfer of the common stock of Wesco and Roxy Theatre, will issue to 20th-Fox as the new picture company 2,769,486 shares of its common stock, and 20th -Fox will then distribute to its shareholders the com¬ mon of National on the basis of one share of the new picture company’s com¬ mon for each share of the present picture company. The consideration for the issu¬ ance to 20th-Fox of the shares of the common of National registered will be the transfer by Fox to the theatre company of all the capital stock of Wesco con¬ sisting of 1,000 shares of common without par value and all of the common stock of Roxy consisting of 10,000 shares without par value. Wesco, its subsidiaries, and affiliates as of July 1 had an interest in 510 theatres in the United States, certain of which must be divested under the consent decree. Wesco and its subsidiaries at the end of last year had 8,200 employes, in¬ cluding executives and 2,300 part-time employes. Pidgeon Next SAG Head Hollywood— Walter Pidgeon, now first vice-president, is slated to be the next president of the Screen Actors Guild, suc¬ ceeding Ronald Reagan, who retires after five years, it was learned last week. Reagan continues on the board and the executive committee. TO As Levy Cautions On Censor Optimism New York — Herman M. Levy, general counsel, TOA, declared last week that in view of the decision of the U. S. Supreme Court in the “Miracle” case, “it is necessary to caution persons contem¬ plating court tests of censorship laws or ordinances, in the various states and municipalities where they exist, to ex¬ amine and to analyze carefully the laws or ordinances in question, and the facts involved, with relation to the facts of ‘The Miracle Case’, the New York law, and the principles established by the U. S. Supreme Court. ‘The Miracle’ decision is not to be considered as the death knell of all licensing laws. The Supreme Court did not hold that all ‘prior restraints’ (censorship) as to the exhibition of motion pictures are unconstitutional. It held, as it stated, only that under the First and 14th amendments a state may not ban a film on the basis of a censor’s conclusion that it is ‘sacrilegious’. For example in did not decide ‘whether a state may censor pictures under a clearly drawn statute designed, and applied to prevent the showing of obscene films.’ “Since the Supreme Court has spoken, and, since, there are ample clear prin¬ ciples of law expressed in the ‘Miracle’ and ‘Pinky’ decisions, states and munici¬ palities should, of their own volition analyze their censorship laws, and repeal them if they offend these principles; or jointly with exhibitor and/or distributor groups, seek the advice of courts, as to constitutionality, through suits in the nature of Declaratory Judgment, or other appropriate procedure. “Local exhibitor leaders should bring this to the attention of their governments in the hope that favorable action will be taken, and that, thereby, expensive and debilitating litigation may be avoided. “In those instances where certsors are operating under statutes or ordinances that are clearly offensive to the principles laid down by the Supreme Court in the decisions discussed in this paper, and those censors are being paid out of tax¬ payers’ funds, or otherwise, then the refusal, or neglect of local and state gov¬ ernments, to repeal those statutes or ordinances is inexcusable and unjusti¬ fiable.” Col. Action Nears Settlement New York — September 22 was set last week by Justice Morris Eder, State Su¬ preme Court, to consider approval of a settlement of a Columbia stockholder’s action. The settlement proposed by Harry Cohn, Columbia president, already has been recommended as fair by referee Arthur G. Klein. The suit charged direc¬ tors were dominated by Cohn when they okehed an employment contract for him in 1949, and that the company had paid legal fees of $40,000, which should have been paid by Cohn. All of the allegations of the plaintiff were denied by the de¬ fendants. September 3, 1952