The Exhibitor (Nov 1938-May 1939)

THE NATIONAL MIRROR Number 12 of a Series: CHARLES S. ROTH Valley Enterprises, Inc., operators of six Virginia theatres. "We have subscribed to THE NATIONAL EXHIBITOR for the past several years and have always considered it an excellent trade publication, especially in its recently improved form. "The 'personal touch’ added by local news of individuals in the territory is a definite factor for 'reader interest.’ Keep up the good work!” Nearly every Exhibitor reads THE EXHIBITOR! AN INVITATION Throughout 1 939, expressions of praise, comment, criticism or suggestion from our many Exhibitor Friends will be carried in similar form in every issue. W.e welcome the expression of every reader and will use them in the order in which they are received. Government Wants Theatre Divorcement Press Release Indicates Official Attitude Substantiating reports that the government is primarily interested in divorcing production and distribution from exhibition, a clarification came last fortnight from Assistant Attorney General Thurman Arnold in Washington. At the same time, correspondence between company attorneys and the government was released to the press. Assistant Attorney General Arnold, acting for the Department of Justice, released formal details of status quo arrangement regarding majors’ theatre acquisition reports while the New York suit is pending. Arnold stated the pact between the department and majors had forestalled temporary injunction application. The statement points out that conferences between the department and majors’ counsel brought agreement under three heads on theatre expansions. These include: 1, immediate notification of the Department of Justice by defendants regarding all acquisition contracts or completed deals; 2, report to the department each month on any changes in defendants’ theatre positions including theatr s contracted to be built or building, lost or disposed of, acquired and interests acquired. The department’s freedom to petition for preliminary injunction should it feel public interest warranted such reports is acknowledged. Defendants will be equally free to oppose. Releasing of the details of the agreement by Arnold followed an exchange of correspondence between majors’ counsels and the Department of Justice which started November 2 1, 193 8. At a conference held November 16, the majors w re asked by Arnold to stipulate to a temporary injunction with respect to theatre holdings until the equity suit was settled. Attorneys for the film companies replied that it was impossible for them to consent to an injunction but that a counter-suggestion might meet the purpose. These suggestions embodied the three points mentioned above and to wh’ch the Department of Justice agreed. Attorneys for the defendant motion picture companies in the government’s anti-trust suit released the following letter, further clarifying the understanding. “1. Each of the producer-exhibitor defendants will notify the Department of Justice immediately of any legally binding commitment, whether preliminary or final, for the acquisition by it of any additional theatre or theatres, and if in any case the transaction is concluded by a final commitment only without any preliminary commitment having been entered into, each producerexhibitor defendant will notify the Department of Justice of such transactions by telegraph without delay.” and that the last paragraph on page 3 of our letter of December 12, 193 8, be amended to read as follows: “You are right in assuming that the procedure referred to covers and includes the activities of the subsidiary and affiliated interests of the five producer-exhibitor defendants, except, of course, subsidiary or affiliated interests in respect of which they do not have a controlling interest and third parties are in control. Concerning such theatre companies which, in fact, are not controlled by the producer-exhibitor defendants but in which they have an interest, the information will be furnished to the Department of Justice if and when received. The producer-exhibitor defendants will request such theatre companies to notify them immediately of any commitments for theatre acquisitions, and such information as is thus acquired by the producer-exhibitor defendants will be transmitted promptly to the Department of Justice.” Please be advised that the clauses above quoted, as well as the form of Press release enclosed in your letter are approved by us on behalf of Paramount Pictures, Inc., Loew’s, Inc., Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation and National Theatres Corporation, and Irving Trust Company, as Trustee, for RadioKeith-Orpheum Corporation. Alexander Preview Bows Don Alexander, Jr., president, Alexander Preview Company, announced last week that the company was not affiliated with Alexander Film Company in any way. He declared that the preview unit has made arrangements to lease floor space and certain equipment for its activities from the Alexander Film Company and that the preview company will have its own home office studio staff of experts and sales executives. It will also establish distribution points for servicing theatres. Officers are Alexander, Harold N. Schwarz, general manager; Byers E. Smith, secretary-treasurer. Don Alexander, Jr., is the son of J. Don Alexander, president, Alexander Film Company. Executives Rate High, Survey The industry learned last week from recently released Census Bureau figures for 1937 that nearly every other person in the motion picture industry is a corporation official. The field had 15,845 salaried officers drawing $104,324,328. There were 18,779 "wage-earners” making a total yearly wage of $3 5,264,336. New York, December 3 1, 1 938. Honorable Thurman Arnold, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. Re: WB 60-6-86 United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., et al. Dear Sir: We are in receipt of your letter of December 22, 193 8, suggesting that paragraph 1 of the counter-proposal of counsel for the producerexhibitor defendants, as contained on the sixth page of our letter of November 21, 193 8, be changed to read as follows: Quiz Winners Due Feb. 27 Because of the large number of entrants being considered by the judges of the $2 5 0,000 Movie Quiz Contest, more time is required in judging the letters and determining the winners, the committee in charge announced last week. Therefore, it is necessary to postpone the announcement night one week — February 27. Arrangements have been completed so that a list of winners will bi sent to each theatre on that night. February 15, 1959