Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (Sep 1935 - Aug 1936)

9Hdeuendettt EXHIBITORS — FILM BULLETIN — THE INDUSTRY'S NEWS Jjwjtl Oil. fcdihfiial^ UmvpoinL DOGS WON'T RUN IN JERSEY Court Bars 'Option' Stunt . . . The racing hounds won't run in New Jersey with somebody's two dollars and a lot of theatre receipts being lost on them, Vice Chancellor Buchanan of Trenton ruled on Tuesday. The track promoters' scheme to sell "options" on the dogs, conceived for the purpose of circumventing the anti-gambling laws, contains possibilities of gambling and therefore cannot be approved, it was held by the Vice Chancellor. Exhibitors in Jersey, led by Allied, have been battling against the threat of dog racing competition for several years and this time it appeared that they might be defeated by the ingenious "option purchase" plan to permit wagers to be laid, indirectly, on the greyhounds. Under this scheme, the bettor buys an option on a dog. If the dog runs first, second or third, the track agrees to "repurchase" the option at a certain price. Court Sees Disguise . . . The Vice Chancellor's ruling was handed down in an action brought by the Long Branch Kennel Club asking an injunction to restrain the sheriff, prosecutor and mayor of Long Branch from halting operation of the "option" plan at the track. Lawyers for the Atlantic City Boardwalk Merchants Ass'n were also present and asked that their group be made a party to the suit, because a track would open at the seashore resort if the promoters were successful in their action This, they argued, would result in serious damage to A.C. businesses. "The Court is not convinced, to say the least, that it is not the intent and expectation of the Kennel Club to carry on the business of betting under the guise and form of the sales and purchases mentioned," Vice Chancellor Buchanan stated. "Its proofs are not frank, open, full and complete. Consideration of the proofs leaves it reasonably to be inferred that it does not intend to 'make offers to repurchase' options on dogs that do not come in first, second or third in a race." PHILA. EXHIBS MERGED After Two Years . . . After two years of a knock down-drag out battle between the M.P.T.O. unit and a large group of independents (known variously as the I.E.P.A., the I.M.P.T.O. and the I.T.O.), the exhibitor organization situation in the Philadelphia territory this week boomeranged back virtually to where it started. At meetings of both groups held today (Wed.) amalgamation was voted on and committees appointed with full powers to effectuate the plan for merging. They meet Thursday and undoubtedly no hitch will be allowed to stand in the way of completion of the plan. Pizor Slated for Presidency . . . No one individual will emerge from the two-year-old fracas with keener satisfaction than Lewen Pizor, who is regarded as a certainty for the president's chair in the combined body. It was over his alleged domination of the M.P.T.O. that much of the tumult raged at the time of the split. Further, it was only the strength of Pizor's determination that prevented the merging of the groups last December, when he was stripped of any influence in the proposed combination. This is his victory. Another man who may justly claim the merger as a personal triumph is Charles Segali, who worked tirelessly for many months to bring the units together. He will be chairman of the new board of directors. M.P.T.O. in Control . . . Almost throughout the new United M.P.T.O. will be controlled by members of the M.P.T.O. A majority of the board and practically all the officers will be from that group. Warner Bros, and other affiliated theatre groups are members and Ted Schlanger, local WB boss, will probably play an important role in the body's affairs. One of the amendments to the first plan, which provided that no charter member could be expelled, now allows for expulsion upon vote of 75 percent of the members. N. E. UNIT HITS STARS ON AIR 'Serious Inroads' . . . Joining the ever-growing list of exhibitor units on record against radio competition created by movie stars on the air, Allied of New England passed a resolution last week pointing out that appearances of film stars on radio programs is making "serious inroads on motion picture industry grosses." Producers, to whom copies of the resolution were sent, are asked to incorporate clauses restraining stars from broadcasting. Ed Kuykendall, president of the M.P.T.O. A., also registered an opinion that radio competition is keeping people at home to hear their favorites for nothing, rather than pay a theatre admission to see them. Issued weekly at 1323 Vine Street, Philadelphia, Pa. Phone: Rittcnhouse 7424. Mo Wax, Publisher and Editor; Roland Barton, George Frees Nonamaker, Associate Editors. New York Office: 1658 Broadway; phone: Circle 7-3094.