Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1945)

THE NEWS DIGEST A Bi-Weekly Review o/ the Traded Events THE STRIKE THREAT A strike which would close all motion picture theatres playing Hollywood films in the U. S. and Canada was threatened last week as a result of the AFL jurisdictional dispute in Hollywood which halted or severely curtailed production in most studios and, according to Herbert Sorrell, president of the Conference of Studio Unions, would halt production in all studios by the past week-end, unless the strikers' demands for recognition as bargaining agents as prescribed by a War Labor Board order were met. As a consequence of this strike, officials of the Motion Picture Operators Union and the Stagehands Union, IATSE affiliates, were ready to call a strike in all motion picture and vaudeville houses in response to a wire by Richard A. Walsh. IATSE president. The telegram ordered local union officials to be in readiness for an order to "stop handling or exhibiting any motion pictures made by any West Coast producers." Officials of both unions in New York City declared when Walsh's wire was received that any strike order would be obeyed immediately upon receipt. Sorrell voiced the opinion that Walsh's threat was a "typical Bioff-Browne tactic" that was doomed to failure. In Hollywood, 17,000 employees were idle with more in prospect, according to Sorrell, following a special meeting called last Monday by the CSU to explain the strike order. The dispute arose when two AFL unions, Painters' Local 1421 (CSU) and IATSE both claimed jurisdiction over the Set Designers Local, representing a membership of 72. The WLB had designated Local 1421 as bargaining agent for the set designers pending final recognition by the National Labor Relations Board and had appealed to the CSU to withhold the strike order until NLRB had taken action. The producers failed to observe the WLB order, claiming that to do so would have precipitated an immediate halt in production because IATSE president Walsh had notified them that he would instruct his organization's membership not to report for work if they recognized the CSU affiliate. Bitterness between the two unions was aggravated when the non-striking IATSE electricians took over posts vacated by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, whose members had refused to cross the picket lines and permitted limited production in some studios. Warner Bros, studios halted production upon appearance of the picket line and declared they would remain shut down until the strike was settled. 20th Century-Fox and RKO lots also followed suit. The other major studios had restricted production when picket lines were laid down at all studios except Technicolor, Monogram, Walt Disney and PRC. who had agreed to recognize Local 1421 as bargaining agent for the decorators. WLB Chairman George W. Taylor notified strike leaders to end the walkout, declaring that the Board will not act on petitions for a settlement of jurisdictional claims until the strikers return to work. Although the case was on the agenda for last week, Taylor said its rule prohibits it from considering petitions while the strike prevails. Union representatives made no comment on Taylor's request. The situation was expected to reach a crucial stage when the Screen Actors' Guild meets to decide whether it will respect the CSU's picket lines. The SAG asked representatives of the disputing unions to attend and present their cases. SENATE COOL TO PRICE CEILING A ceiling on admission prices to motion picture theatres was proposed by Chester Bowles, Price Administrator, in a surprise move last week, occasioned by what the price chief said was a 38% per cent increase since June, 1941. Bowles suggested the need for OPA authority to place ceilings on movie prices particularly, although controls should be extended to other amusements such as stage shows, athletic events, etc., he said in a letter to Chairman Robert F. Wagner of the Senate Banking Committee. Installment of a movie price ceiling, emphasized Bowles, would necessitate similar action on the rental fees charged by the distributors which he estimated have risen 25 to 30 per cent. Following a discussion in the Senate committee on Bowles' proposal, Wagner reported that members were cool to the OPA chiefs request and were of the opinion that there was "no reason to justify" extension of price control to movie and other amusement tickets. However, Bowles was invited to appear this Tuesday and argue for his recommendation. Declaring that Americans spent one and a half billion dollars on movies alone in 1944, the Bowles letter stated that unless controlled, "there is no reason to believe that these inflated prices MARCH 19, 1945 will return to more reasonable levels or that they will not increase further. " He stated that a rollback of admission prices was "not our initial objective," rather that prices go no higher. Admitting that Federal taxes contributed to the higher prices, Bowles claimed that "more than two-thirds" was traceable to increased charges. The administrator stated that the increase had resulted in a rise of six-tenths of 1 per cent in the official cost of living index, prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The process involved in putting admission prices under OPA supervision was a "comparatively simple" one, he said, adding that should Congress decide on admission price control, information received by the Bureau of Internal Revenue from theatres would be made available to the OPA and simplify the issuance and enforcement of the regulations. Bowies' figure on the increase in movie admissions was challenged in some industry quarters, who blamed increased taxes as the principal cause of the higher rates. Executives of affiliated theatres declined comment on the Bowles action, until they had more information as to how the ceiling program would apply to motion picture theatres. Legitimate theatre producers in New York were vehement in their attack on theatre admission price ceilings, one suggesting a ceiling on ticket taxes if the proposals were adopted. MONOPOLY SUIT FINALLY ON CALENDAR The Government's anti-trust suit against the eight major companies will go to trial on October 8th to be preceded by a pretrial conference on March 26th when assistant attorney-general Robert L. Wright is expected to present a reply brief to that presented by the distributors on clearance. The date was set by Federal Judge Henry A. Goddard in a hearing March 5 in New York District Court where Wright and attorneys for the distributors appeared to consider a temporary injunction to restrain the consenting companies from requiring "unreasonable" clearance." The trial was expected to be a lengthy one, possibly extending more than a year beyond the October date. After introducing 104 decisions of the Arbitration Appeal Board as evidence of anti-trust violations in his application to abolish unreasonable clearance, Wright met the stiff opposition to this move by company attorneys with the declaration that he would take steps to get rid of the entire arbitration setup if the Court denied the decisions as evidence. Judge Goddard reserved decision until briefs were filed. Speaking for the distributors, Warners attorney Judge J. M. Proskauer, contesting the Government's right to demand injunction, declared that distributors were not selling merchandise, but "licensing copyrighted pictures." He reviewed the appeal board decisions and revealed that in 75 per cent of the cases, the appeal board ruled some clearance was proper. The Court accepted a brief submitted by A. F. Myers, Counsel for the Conference of Independent Exhibitors, as amicus curiae, in which the CIE backed the Government's request for an injunction and asked for the entry of an ad interim consent decree. The brief reviewed the history of the entire equity action and the proceedings to date and charged that the companies had unduly protracted the Government's anti-trust action, declaring that the procrastination has been an obstacle in the way of theatre divorcement legislation and has prevented action on block-booking and blind-selling. It listed alleged abuses which "have continued unabated since the filing of the suit." The brief also suggested that a temporary injunction, if granted, "be limited in its application to clearance granted by defendants to the affiliated theatres or to the affiliated theatres and the large — 50 or 100 theatres — independent chains." Morris Ernst, eastern counsel for the Society of Independent Motion Picture producers received permission to submit a brief on behalf of the injunction. ACADEMY GIVES "WAY" FIELD DAY It was Paramount's "Going My Way" virtually all the way at the 16th Annual Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Awards function at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood last Thursday. "Way" copped the Oscar for the outstanding motion picture of the year; Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald received awards for best male starring performance and best male supporting performance, respectively; Leo McCarey captured the Directors' Award for the same film and also walked off with an Oscar for writing the best original motion picture story on the Paramount film, a feat unduplicated in Academy Award history. (Continued on Page 36) 21