The Film Daily (1948)

May, May 17, 1948 S Studies Rank's eamlining Plan (Continued from Page 1) ts, envisages the formation of cu.it Management Association, . *^q manage both circuits, comj^~>okings and pool profits. o'i.and GB each would draw earns on the basis of their receipts r the past three years. Odeon, s said, would have a 57 per cent ,|ke in the company, with GB holder 43 per cent. New company's board would in de Rank, John Davis, Odeon man ng director; Leslie W. Farrow i Mark Ostrer, joint managing di (Stors of GB, and two other nomi jbs from the circuits. tasked about the move, the Rank ganization on Friday said the pro 't is still in the formative stages (th the present title "simply a name i a piece of paper." Rank is keeping the Board of tjade informed on developments as, fder the Films Act, the Board may 'fuse to license a theater in a cir eciiBt of more than 200 houses if that fuse was not controlled by the pioup before the Act went into ef ■tlict. Clause was included in the ntiiv so that BOT would be able to Introl some circuit booking prac 8:es. Informed sources in New York \er the week-end said that Odeon liikd GB toppers were discussing ,'actical means to effect a closer brking arrangement covering econ hy and manpower factors. Objec ire was defined as "better house seping," beneficial to both circuits. was indicated that when agree ent, satisfactory to all parties, had Ijten reached, public announcement rould be made. There was renewed Anphasis on the fact that no merger as contemplated. tl trotz Named Television ice-President for NBC Sidney N. Strotz, has been named 1 mini strati ve vice president in large of television for NBC, Niles rammel, president, announced. He icceeds Frank E. Mullen. Formerly vice-president in charge t NBC's Western division, Strotz ill divide his time between New ork and Hollywood. Eastman Donates Film For Academy Project West Coast Bur., THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Eastman Kodak will donate sufficient raw stock to process the first year of the Academy's project of restoring historic films filed at the Library of Congress, Edward P. "Ted" Curtis, E-K vice-president, notified Howard Walls, curator of the Academy film library. Gift will be turned over to the Academy by Emery Huse, Hollywood executive of Eastman. British Columbia Also Plans Takeover of Tax Victoria, B. C. — Following the lead of the Province of Ontario, British Columbia plans to take over the 20 per cent amusement tax when it is dropped by the Dominion Government, Premier Byron Johnston announced. Receipts will be used to aid hospitals, as was the case in the measure pushed through the legislature in Ontario. Brandt Group Will Control Trans-Lux (Continued from Page 1) agement, will become board chairman. Trans-Lux plans extensive expansion in the theater field, and is said to be aiming for a circuit of 100 houses. Options to purchase two existing chains have been quietly obtained, it is understood, but their identities are being carefully guarded. The company is preparing to develop its rear projection system for the video field. In this connection, it is said the corporation is checking on suspected infringement of its rear projection system in the drive-in field. Film Exchanges Free of Fires for Second Year Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington — The nation's exchanges and shipping depots were free of fire for the second successive year last year, MPAA president Eric A. Johnston reported this morning. He referred to the annual report of John B. McCullough, director of MPAA's Conservation Department, which was based upon the record of some 400 exchanges and depots which handled six million miles of film. A note of caution was added, however, as McCullough said a few of the older exchange structures do not measure up to "desirable standards." BFI to Organize Film Side of 1951 Festival London (By Air Mail) —British Film Institute will organize the film side of the Festival of Britain in 1951, R. W. Dickinson, BFI secretary said. Group will set up a small executive committee to discuss preliminary arrangements, with a much larger body to be organized to represent the entire industry. To Make "Sunny River" West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Jack Skirball and Bruce Manning have worked out a co-op deal with Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein, 2nd, to film the 1941 musical, "Sunny River," in Technicolor. Production is slated for late this year or early 1949. DAILY Sears Gold Cup Trophy To UA's George Heiber Montreal— The Grad Sears Gold Cup trophy, emblematic of outstanding UA sales achievement during the 1947-48 drive period, will be presented to George Heiber, branch manager here, at a luncheon Wednesday. Edward M. Schnitzer, Eastern and Canadian sales manager, will present the cup to Heiber at a ceremony which will be attended by Charles S. Chaplin, UA Canadian division sales chief, and the Dominion's leading exhibitors. Schnitzer will also bring a congratulatory message from UA president Sears. Heiber's branch personnel led the drive competition from start to finish, although sharply contested in the race for honors by the Chicago, Toronto and New Orleans branches. Montreal becomes the second branch to gain a leg on the trophy which was placed into competition a year ago when Chicago took top honors. Schlaifer News Bureau Operating at N. Y. Roxy An industry innovation, Charles Schlaifer, 20th-Fox ad-publicity director, has established a publicity bureau on a round-the-clock basis at the Roxy to cover "The Iron Curtain" developments which, at the week-end, had garnered upwards of 100 columns of free space in the met. dailies apart from the reviews. Schlaifer will keep the bureau open during the run of the pic, and is personally supervising. Meanwhile, biz reports from the field to the home office led to estimates that the pic would end up as one of the top Fox grossers. N. J. Bingo Referandum Nixed Move for a New Jersey public referendum on legalized Bingo was killed when the State Legislature at Trenton spurned a Democratic minority proposal. Rivoli Suit Hearing June 1 Chicago — Federal Judge Phillip Sullivan has set June 1 as hearing date in Rivoli Theater anti-trust Gov't Would Compel Schine to Sell Five (Continued from Page 1) Schine subsequent to the filing of the Government's anti-trust suit in 1939, and this month's high court decision, affirming as it did lower court judgment based upon evidence entered in the original case, did not bear specifically upon these stands. Nor was there any declaration of Schine's obligation to comply with the 1942 consent decree. The 1942 decree included an agreement that Schine dispose of 16 theaters it had acquired since 1939. Six of the theaters were sold within the first year, and the district court turned down a Schine plea in 1943 that it not be required to sell the rest. Four more of the theaters were sold by the Fall of 1944, and the lease of a fifth had expired. The 1945 divestiture order of the district court called for sale of the remaining five houses by a trustee, but Schine challenged this part of the decision, holding that its obligation to sell the theaters had expired. The Supreme Court decision does not cover this point specifically, Solicitor General Philip Perlman wrote in his petition last week, and "the further proceedings ordered by this court will not resolve these questions." The Government called for speedy carrying out of the six-year-old decree, and asked that the high court make its judgment of the matter known speedily. WEDDIM BELLS Porter-Dmytryk Ellicott City, Md.— Edward Dmytryk, director, and film actress Jean Porter, were married here. Thorsen-Weiss Sid Weiss, Radio Daily columnist, will be married Wednesday to Ethel Thorsen. Couple will honeymoon on a 12-day cruise to South America. JOHNNY APPLESEED from (0alt^DTsnie>4s NEW TECHNICOLOR MUSICAL