Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1957)

Tom O'Neil &RK0 PaMt pteMHt Juture by LEONARD COULTER Sometimes a man falls prisoner to his own dreams. It was a buoyant, confident Thomas F. O'Neil who, a year and a-half ago, moved into the control of RKO Radio Pictures. He had just closed what looked like a sugarplum deal. For $25,000,000 he had bought a company for which Hughes had previously refused $50,000,000 or more. His own words, uttered at that time, reflected his optimism : "I heard a great deal, long before I met Mr. Hughes, about possible liquidation of RKO by various groups which, it was said, were anxious to acquire the company for a quick sale of its properties, after which they would allow it to disintegrate. "It quickly became apparent to me . . . that Mr. Hughes was not interested in such a deal. Moreover, we became convinced that there was a large and growing market for fine films for theatrical distribution . . . "We confirmed . . . that the company's film backlog could be acquired for television only if RKO was purchased as a film business, and maintained as such. Accordingly, I wrote a letter to Mr. Howard Hughes stating that if our conversations matured, we would be prepared to take over RKO in its existing posture; that is to say, to operate it as a unit for producing and distributing films for theatrical release. While the letter does not form part of the legal contract, I regard it as being binding upon us. "Mr. Hughes himself had insisted all along that he was opposed to the break-up of RKO Radio Pictures because it would cause widespread distress and unemployment, and would accentuate the film shortage. I think a great deal of credit is due to him for that humanitarian stand . . . "We shall maintain it as a going concern, because we feel it can stand on its own feet and thrive in its own mar "We have a right to operate our business as efficiently as it can be run . . . Our wove was motivated almost by desperation . . . We figure that somewhere along the line we will be able to evolve a new way of distributing pictures . . ." ket . . . We intend to use this great opportunity to continue and increase RKO's role in the important theatrical release field . . . Any changes we introduce will be primarily with the object of establishing ourselves permanently in the film business . . . "Our expansion in that field is. we feel, a far more compelling job than releasing backlog films for television. I think we shall have all the money we need for making pictures." That was the Tom O'Neil of July, 1955, firmly convinced that he was on the threshold of a great new career as the guiding light of a great film producing company which might even out-Metro Metro itself. Wizard of Oz To say that now, some eighteen months later, Tom O'Neil is a chastened man would be an exaggeration, but there isn't much doubt he is a much wiser one now and, perhaps, even a little disappointed. For the job of reviving RKO as a top film producer hasn't been as easy as it looked. Nor has the early expectation of a quick and handsome profit come to pass. To those unfamiliar with the complexities of present-day corporate finance it looked for all the world, back in the summer of 1955, that Mr. O'Neil was about to be unveiled as a financial Wizard of Oz. The all-too-simple arithmetic scribbled on bar-room napkins at that time went something like this : Cash paid for RKO : $25,000,000. Received from Howard Hughes on the sale back to him of two feature (Continued on Page 17) Page 12 Film BULLETIN February 4, 1957