The Film Daily (1940)

M P P l?() IJ i5t I) I S T 2 n W ^^T H ST 7,1 •e Intimate in Character International in Scope Independent in Thought DO NOT REMOVE The Daily Newspaper Of Motion Pictures Twenty-Two Years Old oft! yOL. i,ayjO. 119 >x-J NEW YORK. TUESDAY. JUNE 18, 1940 TEN CENTS SENATE COM. WANTS SLIDING SCALE TAX Heely Bill Sub -Com. May Be Semi -Permanent ■Proposal Will Delay Action ^his Session Pending Sur/ey of Exhibition Field Vashington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY I Washington — Possibility that the .louse sub-committee now studying *,he Neely bill may become a semipermanent body to make a complete jurvey of the industry's problems ivas revealed here yesterday by one j)f the members. At a sub-commitee meeting it has been proposed hat action be delayed for this ses (Continued on Page 7) Neely Bill Not Dead ^y Long Shot— Cole Hi ij Chicago — "The Neely bill is not ort^ead by a long shot," Col. H. A. vole, Allied president, declared here ^esterday, adding that abolition of plock-booking would be one of the taain topics for discussion at the .Rational Allied convention which pens here tomorrow at the Hotel orrison. Ousting of block-booking and chieving theater divorcement are Time aims of Allied, Col. Cole said. (Continued on Page 7) fPAG "Recognition" Move ^nder Ampa Consideration Ampa is polling its membership n a resolution, approved by the Board of Directors, which would ex;end "recognition and encourageent" to the Screen Publicists and (^.dvertisers Guild. Result is exbected to be announced at Thurs f (Continued on Page 8) 1, II Carnival Opposition Wisconsin Headache Milwaukee, Wis. — June has been a headache for Wisconsin exhibitors from the standpoint of competition from carnivals. The tent shows appear to be particularly active in the state this season, theater men report, with many of them running for a week in the larger cities in the state. Cities in which carnivals have been holding forth this month include Milwaukee, Sheboygan, Racine, Oshkosh, Eau Claire, Madison, Antigo and Kenosha. F.D.R. Loohs to Allied's Convention for "Wise Counsels'" and ^'^Constr active Action*' Chicago — Expressing the hope that the eleventh annual national Allied convention will be fruitful of action of such a constructive nature as to bring into closer harmony the interests of exhibitors and theater patrons alike, President Roosevelt has communicated a message to Jack Kirsch, president of Illinois Allied and national convention chairman, extending his personal greetings to all in attendance at the three-day conclave, which opens tomorrow. Written from the White House under date of June 13, the letter said: "My hearty greetings and best wishes to all who attend the eleventh annual national convention of the Allied States Association of Motion Picture Exhibitors in Chicago. I trust that the convention will be a successful one, fruitful of wise counsels and constructive action to promote alike the closely allied interests of the exhibitors and the patrons." ' > Seltlement Talks Said "Progressing Discussions looking to a settlement of the New York equity suit, so-called, will be continued by Government counsel and attorneys for the majors at 10 o'clock this morning in the Bar Association building. Conferees, at the close of yesterday afternoon's parley, continued their policy of "no comment" on (Continued on Page 6) Essaness Circuit Will Eliminate Premiums Chicago — With 16 indies dropping triples in a determined effort to eliminate the practice, next move in the Chicago field to get back to film biz alone may be aimed at premiums. Emil Stern of Essaness states that upon expiration of current pre (Continued on Page 8) Co-op of Industry Urged by EInfeld Chicago — ■ Charles Einfeld, Warners ad and publicity chief, addressing the opening session of the company's second and final sales convention at the Blackstone here yesterday, called for "the abandoning of selfish interests so far as is possible" (Continued on Page 6) Wehrenberg, Kaimann Circuits Merged St. Louis — Merger of circuits headed by Fred Wehrenberg and Clarence Kaimann has been perfected. Wehrenberg has 12 neighborhood and suburban units, mostly in South St. Louis, while Kaimann Brothers operate 13 units in North St. Louis and St. Louis County. Wehrenberg and Kaimann will each be interested in all 25 theaters (Continued on Page 8) $SOOrOOO Tied Up in France Shipments of Prints Held in Abeyance Sandquist Wants More Theater Tax Revenue Chicago — ^ Rep. Elmer Sandquist will ask the Legislative Council, which meets here next month to prepare bills for submission to the State Legislature, at its 1941 meeting, to investigate additional sources of tax revenue from theaters. Meanwhile, Prexy Eddie Zorn is (Continued on Page 8) Following the move yesterday by the French Government for a peace with Germany, a survey of foreign departments disclosed that American distributors operating in France probably have around $500,000 tied up in banks in that country. No estimate was placed on physical properties owned in the country by the distribs., and it was pointed out that there was no reason at (Continued on Page 4) Bill Aims for 77 Millions From Amusements; Levy to Start With Cent on Dime Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington — Admission taxes, via a straight sliding scale, starting with dime tickets, are called for in the new tax bill as approved by the Senate Finance Committee. The Senate measure's provisions differ markedly from the amusement tax theory developed by the House and embodied in its tax bill and go beyond the proposals made last week by industry spokesmen and pub'ished in The Film Daily yesterday. Whereas under the recommenda ( Continued on Page 4) Crafts May Huddle On Ork Employment Indianapolis — American Federation of Musicians' convention, prior to adjournment, adopted a substitute resolution authorizing the president and Executive Board to "consider the feasibility of engaging in meetings with allied crafts of the theater industry for the purpose of (Continued on Page 6) Balkan Theater Biz Slump About 30%~T. Skouras Dislocation of the film business from the European war has been less noticeable in the Balkans and Asia Minor territories in physical aspect than it has been in the greater (Continued on Page 8) Cincinnati Bingo "Take" at New High Cincinnati — While exhibs. gritted their teeth, Chief of Police Weatherly announced Bingo receipts in Cincinnati proper for May exceeded any previous month. Attendance increased 9.1 per cent. Lowest net cost per person was 55.3 cents. Total games were 263. Attendance, 294,778; gross receipts, $214,994.97; money returned to players 552.026.14; net profits retained by sponsors, $162,968.83.