Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1957)

RHODEN ELMER C. RHODEN sang a beautiful spring song to National Theatres stockholders about a 50 per cent rise in earnings: $1,088,000 ($.40 a share) in net income for the 26 weeks ended March 26, 1957, compared to $722,000 ($.27 a share) for the corresponding period last year. Theatre gross income for the six months was up $1,229,907 ($28,629,354 this year against $27,399,447 in the previous year). The National Theatres president made this comment: "Administrative expenses were reduced and most theatre expense items were held in line, but there was a substantial increase in program costs, particularly film rentals. The increase in film rentals is largely attributable to the continuing shortage of films which has created a seller's market". 0 PHILIP F. HARLING refuses to give up the fight to make more exhibitors eligible for Senate Small Business loans. In his most recent move, Harling, chairman of TOA's small business committee, petitioned SBA administrator Wendell Barnes for a meeting at which exhibition can present its case. His letter was in reply to Barnes' statement of April 12 in which he turned down Harlings' request that the SBA's rules be liberalized so exhibitor applicants would be able to obtain loans on easier terms without the necessity of proving inability to obtain private financing. Barnes stated that the prerequisite of proving that private financing is unavailable is "fundamental American economic policy" and he doubts that Congress would or should eliminate the requirement that SBA loans be of such sound value as to assure repayment. "The greatest disservice that SBA can do an honest businessman is to make a loan that he is unable to repay and which would only postpone the day of reckoning", Barnes stated. In his letter, Harling re-emphasized that private financing, particularly of mortgage loans, is closed to theatremen, and that "in the interest of clarification and for the purpose of presenting our position which we hope will indicate good credit risk and ability repay, THEY MADE THE NEWS it would be desirable to hold a meeting to get these matters squared away." 0 BARNEY BALABAN told Paramount stockholders that the company might sell its pre-1948 picture backlog to television "in the near future". In his annual report, the Paramount president also disclosed a net income after taxes for 1956 of $8,731,568 ($4.43 per share) compared to the 1955 net cf $9,707,929 $(4.49 per share). However, fully half of the 1956 income, according to Balaban, came from the sale of marginal assets, including the company's theatres in Great Britain, plus adjustment of investments in affiliated companies. On the probable sale of the film library, the executive stated: "The shortage of major program material for te!e Triumphant smiles are flashed by United Artists' management team upon successful conclusion of ike company's recent stock offering. President Arthur B. Krim. seated center, receives checks totaling $16,000,000 from vice president Seymour M. Peyser. Flanking them are, from left. UA controller Joseph Ende. vice presidents William J. Heineman. Max E. Youngstein, Leon Goldberg, secretary Seward I. Benjamin. Issue was offered and fully subscribed April 25. F. Eberstadt & Co. headed underwriters. vision and the popularity of feature length motion pictures has enhanced the value of our library. We are continuing to give close study to the involved legal, technical and business factors which must be considered in any decision to sell or lease this most important asset of your company". O JOSEPH R. VOGEL blamed "disappointing boxoffice returns" for the mixed financial news he had for Loew's stockholders. The good: though gross sales for the 28 weeks ending March 14, 1957, were down, $87,248,000 this year as compared to $87,439,000 of the corresponding period last year, net profit was up, $2,729,248 ($.51 per share) this year, compared to $1,889,843 ($.36 per share), for the corresponding period. The bad: gross sales and net profit for the 16-week period ending March 14 were down: $48,630,000 gross this year, as against $52,837,000 of last year; net profit $983,923 ($.18 per share) compared to $1,641,682 ($.31 per share) in the corresponding period. NATIONAL ALLIED, seemingly on the brink of rejoining COMPO, turned thumbs down at the final moment. The independent exhibitor organization's board of directors, meeting in Detroit last week, notified COMPO's governing committee (Sam Pinanski, Abe Montague, Robert W. Ccyne) that it had decided against implementing its previous intention to return to the fold. The reason: a telegram received by Allied from the COMPO governors in which they set forth changes in COMPO's structure which, the Allied board s~id, "must be agreed to by the executive committee before Allied's re-entry", these changes being "at variance with the discussions and resulting understandings previously reached". The statement charged that COMPO had destroyed th: "factual foundation upon which Allied directors had acted" in planning to rejcin COMPO. The subject is "still open", however, the board declared. In another direction, the Allied board issued a four-pcint indictment of the anti-trust division of the Dept. cf Justice, scoring its failure to properly interpret and enforce the antitrust consent decree. 0 ROBERT W. COYNE cited the "hard and painstaking efforts of local exhibitor" for the fact that 19 local governments have repealed admission taxes and eight others have reduced theirs since publication of COMPO's report on state and local admission taxes several weeks ago. Coyne, COMPO special counsel, also announced that the success of t'. ese measures "should be a stimulus and a source of encouragement to exhibitors in hundreds of other communities who are still burdened by these oppressive and discriminatory levies." HEADLINERS . . . LINDA, daughter of 20th-Fox vice president CHARLES EINFELD, will wed Yale Law School graduate John Hirsh in June. Bridegroom will enter practice in Chicago . . . ROGER LEWIS, United Artists advertising director, back at the heme office following 3-week tour of Europe where he met with company personnel on UA's plans for expanded global promotion, and conferred with producers preparing films for UA release . . . MAURICE SEGAL named assistant publicity manager for United Artists . . . WALTER READE, JR., board chairman of Continental Distributing, Inc., taking in the Cannes Film Festival in the search for new product . . . BILL DOLL named a vice president of the Michael Todd Company . . . TED MANN, newlyelected president of North Central Allied theatreowners, announced the exhibitor organization has changed its name to Exhibitors Trade Association (ETA), following the unit's recent reorganization . . . ROBERT HELLER & ASSOCIATES retained by Loew's as management consultants, according to Loew's president JOSEPH R. VOGEL . . . DIED: CHARLES R. DIETZ, MGM field press representatives in Detroit, brother of Loew's vice president Howard Dietz . . . DR. HARRY C. SCHAD, veteran Reading, Pa., theatre owner. Film BULLETIN May 13, 1957 Page 47