Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1951)

lYetvs and Opinion ^Continued from Preceding Page) ^feejfirst day of the test's 10th week, which Viewed a drop in orders to 21.8%, after the Ttnnth week had risen to 23.4% of the possible audience. Primarily responsible for the dip were two fight telecasts during the week, which ate into the most popular showing time the late evening performance. Broadening of the Phonevision system to Canada also loomed as Zenith president E. F. McDonald, Jr., conferred with Canadian government and CBC officials. The CBC executive evinced enthusiasm for the system, said he could find no technical difficulties standing in the way of PV in Canada. McDonald also revealed plans to bring sporting events to subscription viewers exclusively. Specifically mentioned were the Kentucky Derby, hockey's Stanley Cup play-offs and championship prize fights. WOOD CALLS OHIO MEETING TO PROTEST FILM 'GOUGING' A call to arms against the "relentless" distributors "who don't give a damn what OHIO'S WOOD Call To Arms happens to the exhibition end of this industry" was heralded by Ohio's P. J. Wood, secretary of the ITO of Ohio, in a bulletin. The Columbus firebrand invited all Ohio exhibitors to a protest luncheon meeting at the Deshler Wallick Hotel in Columbus, March 29, "to lodge a protest that will carry weight, and perhaps to inform the general public of what is actually happening in this business." As a prelude to his alarum trumpet, Wood cited figures which he said were evidence that the boxoffice decline "continues unabated" threatening scores of theatres with shutdowns In contrast, thf ITO leader gave profit figures of the film companies indicating increases in distribution profits over last year. Wood emphasized that the protest meeting would be limited strictly to exhibitors — "no popcorn salesmen, film peddlers or branch managers" — and urged exhibitors to turn out in full force, adding, "a small attendance at this meeting will encourage the distributors to enlarge their present gouging methods." WB SALES MEETING PLANS NEW SPRING-SUMMER LINEUP Ten Warner releases for the Spring and Summer months will be the major topic of a two-day meeting of the company's district managers called by distribution _ vice-president Ben Kalmenson for Mar. 28-29. In addition to the division and district managers and Kalmenson, top-echelon executives Albert Warner, Samuel Schneider, Mort Blumenstock, Norman H. Moray, Ed Hinchy, I. F. Dolid and Bernard Goodman will attend to outline the distribution and merchanising plans. The warm-weather ten have "Only the Valiant," "I Was a Communist for the F.B.I. ," "Goodbye My Fancy," "Along the Great Divide," "Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison," "Strangers On a Train," "Fort Worth," "Captain Horatio Hornblower," "Jim Thorpe-All American," "A Streetcar Named Desire." PA. ALLIED BACKS SUIT VS. NSS; ATOI 'FREE TRAILERS' Eastern Pa. Allied threw its weight behind the exhibitor anti-trust suit against National Screen Service, the first exhibitor organization to voice its formal endorsement of the theatremen's lawsuit. The action was backed by a resolution, drawn up by Sidney E. Samuelson, president and general manager, and approved by an "overwhelming" vote, stating that ihe Pa. A1TO "goes on record as approving and morally supporting the action which has already been instituted by two of its own members (Korr Bros, of Allentown)." The resolution stated that independent exhibitors "have attempted unsuccessfully to alleviate the conditions created by National Screen Service and about which the exhibitors have complained.'' It also noted "as a matter of court record" that the film companies receive "substantial" sums from NSS out of its earnings which "are necessarily derived from the exhibitors." In a different vein, Indiana Allied's board of directors advocated free trailers, or, at least, that the film companies should not demand royalty payments from NSS since they had turned trailers over to National Screen "to relieve themselves of a department that was a continual loss." Without these royalties, it was reasoned, trailer puces could be reduced considerably. The gratis trailer argument held that "in most other fields, the manufacturer's representative is credited with a good iob if he secures permission of the retailer to set up his advertising displays in a good location and he would certainly not ask the merchant to pay for this display material which has the purpose of promoting the manufacturer's product." To the argument that exhibitor also benefitted and should properly pay for his share of advertising a picture, the proponents of free trailers answered that the prevue was "only a small part of the ad program and that the exhibitor paid for newspaper space, lobby display material, heralds, window cards and other advertising. If the distributor only paid for the trailer he would still be contributing only a minor share of the ad expense involved in selling the distributor's merchandise." MONOGRAM BACK IN BLACK AFTER 2 YEARS OF RED INK It wasn't the seven-figure kind, but was black. And after two years of re ink, Monogram president Steve Broid! could hardly be blamed for noting wit: pride the profit of $163,312 shown by th j company for the second half of 1950. Gross for the period, which ended De ! 30, 1950, came to $3,937,810. Expenditun j and costs totaled $3,774,498. No provisio I for Federal income taxes was necessai! because of the loss for the preceding tw 1 years. Under Federal law such loss ca be utilized in reduction of taxable incoir > for the current year. Under a delayed action provision, tli loss of $263,341 reported for the year en ed July 1, 1950, was deepened to $663,34 and the deficit account from $704,826 I $1,104,826 because of special amortizatk of $400,000 on two pictures made by Mo ogram but released by United Artist! The inventory of released productions wi i reduced, of course, by a like amount. 7 MONOGRAM'S BROIDY From Red To Black $239,000,000 NET FOR LOEWS IN 27-YEAR PERIOD A total of $239,000,000 has been netij by Loew's since it was founded 27 ye;» ago, with never a year that failed to sh I a profit. This proud news was deliveijl to the company's annual stockholdi* meeting by vice-president J. Robert If bin. He also boasted that quarterly dijdends were paid without interruption dfing Loew's existence. In a more sombre tone, Rubin called I tention to several conditions adversely j; fecting earnings in the most recent *5 weeks which ended March 15, specifidly, reduced theatre attendance, hurric<g loss suffered by radio station WMGM, <p inability thus far to convert the equival t of about $1,000,000 of restricted Italn lira. With more than 75 per cent of st«K represented in person or by proxy, stfjs options to six key executives were r roved, and all directors were reelected FILM BULLET"