Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1945)

THE NEWS DIGEST (Continued from Page 19) and in theatres than any other organization with the possible exception of RCA. NBC, and CBS." His first knowledge of the suit was gleaned from the press, he declared, and he professed amazement at the charges. Raibourn is one of three individuals named in the suit. The others are Carle G. Hines, President of GPE, and Arthur Levey, president of ASC and a director of Scophony, Ltd. General Precision is the largest single stockholder in the 20th Century-Fox Corp. W. PA. ALLIED ASKS FREE SCREEN Exhibitors must have complete freedom to decide what will appear on their screens and what collections will be taken up in their theatres, it was resolved at the silver anniversary convention of Allied Motion Picture Theatre Owners of Western Pennsylvania. The resolution was seen as a further slap at the peacetime exhibitor organization launched in Washington recently and strengthened the indication that exhibitors affiliated with the Conference of Independent Exhibitors will not participate in the new organization. Another resolution forwarded to Eric Johnston, MPAA head, and to the five major distributors served by Confidential Reports, condemned the policies of CR, and urged immediate action by the distributors in discontinuing use of the checking organization because of its employment of home-town checkers and other onerous practices. All officers were re-elected. They are Morris Finkel, president; Fred Beer'le, v. p.; Fred J. Herrington, sec'y; Joseph Gellman, trearurer: and William Blatt, Dr. C. E. Hermann, and William Wheat, Jr., directors. Hyman Goldbert was named a director to succeed the late Harry Walker. Speakers included Martin G. Smith, president of National Allied: M. A. Rosenberg, Sidney Samuelson, Blatt, Finkel. Herrington, Earle W. Sweigert, Maurice N. Wolf, Paul Mooney, Leon J. Bamberger. Bert M. Stearn, Allen G. Smith and David Palfreyman. PARAMOUNT PLANS 20 FOR 1946 Paramount studios will turn out 20 productions in 1946 on planned budgets totaling $32,000,000, Henry Ginsberg, studio production head, announced last week. He added that about 23 stories are in active preparation for next year's shooting and that the studio has created a fund of best selling novels, originals and successful plays. With a backlog of 20 pictures either completed, editing or now shooting, the studio chief said Paramount's program is 16 months ahead of schedule and that pre-production activities are heavier than at any time in many years. Pictures already completed comprise enough feature product to more than cover all of next season's release requirements. Ginsberg's announcement does not cover films made for Paramount release by independent producers such as Hal Wallis productions or the Pine-Thomas unit. THEATRE CONSTRUCTION CURBED New theatre construction faced severe curtailment, and possibly an indeterminate postponement as the result of President Truman's announcement on December 12 proclaiming the reinstatement of prioriites on building materials for all construction other than housing. It was expected that more than half of all construction supplies would go into lower-priced home building in order to ease the current housing shortage. Theatre construction, as well as more expensive dwellings and commercial and industrial construction would fall into priority classification on the balance of the building material. The possibility was still evident that theatre con:truction now in progress might be completed without the delay anticipated by the regulations, but nothing definite has come from official quarters on this. The lifting of wartime restrictions on building materials last October 15 instigated a heavy program of new theatre building and planning. RANK, PATHE IN DISTRIB DEAL England's J. Arthur Rank hit the news spotlight again with the announcement that a new world-wide distribution organization to distribute 20 films, 10 British and 10 American, had been formed by Rank and Robert R. Young, chairman of the board of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad and of ike Alleghenv Corp., who also holds the controlling interest in Pathe and PRC Pictures The new company will be known as Eagle-Lion Films. The Young interests will have distribution interests in this country, and Central and South America. Distribution elsewhere will be handled by Rank. Although controlled by the Young interests. PRC will not participate in the operations of the new company, which will have its own distribution force. The new arrangement is similar to the United World organization formed by Rank, Universal and International Pictures and gives British product coordinated distribution within the U S as well as throughout the rest of the world. THEATRE MANAGERS and PROJECTIONISTS Don't put your return film in the lobby before all patrons have left. Address your return posters properly wrapped so they are delivered to the rightful owners as there is a serious paper shortage! IMPORTANT! Put your return trailers in the proper containers. Don't send all trailers to National Screen as there are others who ship trailers. IMPORTANT! See that we get a copy of your program Thursday previous to playing time. HIGHWAY EXPRESS LINES, INC. 236 N. 23d St. 1239 Vine St. 1225 Vine St. Philadelphia 7, Penna. LOCust 431 I VICTORY LOAN OVER QUOTA The Victory Loan Drive was on its way to emerging one of the most successful of the series as individual bond sales up to the beginning of last week totaled $5,666,000,000 against a quota of $4,000,000,000, while total sales to individuals and corporations have soared far above the quota set for the campaign, according to Treasury Department figures released by S. H. Fabian, national chairman of the industry's drive. Amount of "E" bonds sold neared one and a half billion dollars, or 75% of the two billion quota. Treasury officials were confident that if the present rate of effort by theatres and other issuing agents is sustained, through December 31, the "E" quota will be topped by a good margin. Competition for the six free air trips to London as prizes for the six theatre managers who do the most outstanding jobs in the campaign resulted in an all-time record for Free Movie Day participation and is providing much of the impetus for continuation of bond-selling activities by theatres through December. Fabian announced. ONE 'A' BI-WEEKLY SAYS MOCHRIE One "top A" picture every other week for a total of 26 through 1946 is the ambitious program planned by RKO-Radio, it was disclosed in New York by Robert Mochrie, general sales manager. The initial attraction will be "The Bells of St. Mary's," RKO's holiday feature. The plan is the result of an extensively worked out schedule by Ned E. Depinet, RKO-Radio president, and Charles W. Koerner, studio chief, and will include product from International Pictures, Goldywn. Disney, the Capra-Briskin-Wyler Liberty Productions, Scl Lesser, the Leo McCarey Rainbow Productions and the Hakim Brothers unit, in addition to its own productions. An advertising budget running into several million dollars has been prepared, added Mochrie. LETS FINISH THE JOB! VICTORY LOAN NEW JERSEY MESSENGER SERVICE Member Nan Film Carrier* 250 N. Juniper St., Phlla., I LOC. 4S2S 32 FILM BULLETIN