The Film Daily (1948)

r, Oeorge ttwick . p. Proton si one DIi «*> ££* Copy ntimate in Character [International in Scope Independent in Thought ■ The Daily Newspaper Of Motion Pictures Now Thirty Years Old 93. NO. 97 NEW YORK. WEDNESDAY. MAY 19, 1948 TEN CENTS permitted Where Deemed •'Just and Fair," Koegel [Tells Fox's Shareholders Competitive bidding, although eliminated by the U. S. Supreme Tourt as a mandatory system of sellng pictures, will in all probability :e conducted by the majors in seected situations, according to informed observers. Only official indication made thus jtar was made by Otto E. Koegel, fOth-Fox counsel, who at a meeting )f stockholders yesterday pointed out (Continued on Page 7) 20THFOK 39 UI6CHS jjCT PROf IT TO 6QUBL1947 Majors to Employ Bidding in Selected Spots i-L Heineman Sales Drive Starts June 4 Eagle Lion will launch a "Bill Heineman Sales Drive" on June 4, with $27,500 in cash awards, including $7,500 for J. Arthur Rank pix land $5,000 for Edward Small featured release by the company, it was iiannounced as the first of four regional sales meetings closed yesterday at the Hotel Warwick. William J. Heineman, distribution (Continued on Page 7) RKO Dismissed from Bordonaro Verdict Buffalo — Appeal of RKO from a Federal Court jury verdict in the Sherman Act suit brought by Bordonaro Bros., was granted by Judge Harold P. Burke, who found insuf(Continued on Page 7) Allport, BOT Experts Talking Clarification London (By Cable)— Fayette W. Allport, MPAA British rep., will meet today with R. G. Somervell and other Board of Trade experts to discuss clarification of certain aspects of the Anglo-American film agreement. Session is 24 hours in advance of the arrival of John G. McCarthy, associate manager of the MPAA's international dep't in New York. A BOT spokesman yesterday expressed the hope that the talks initiated today will clear the air for immediate publication of the agreement negotiated two months ago. LOEWS INT'L IN BUILDING PROGRAM Constructing and Remodelling Theaters, Office Structures; Burger and Lewis Find Grosses are Declining From Alexandria to Turin and cities in between, Loew's International is building and remodelling theaters and office buildings, according to Samuel N. Burger, company's sales chief, and David Lewis, regional director of the Continent, North Africa and the Middle East. In a joint survey which concluded Burger's three-month visit and Lewis' eight-month trek, they found that overall business grosses have gone down since last year. This was to be expected Lewis pointed out, since consumer goods and travel have become less restricted. Communist defeat in the Italian (Continued on Page 7) Dietz Feels Video Off on Wrong Foot Television got off on the wrong foot by permitting sponsorship of its entertainment offerings, in the opinion of Howard Dietz, M-G-M advertising-publicity vice-president, who believes a "slot machine" method of paying for programs would have been more successful. Speaking yesterday at, a luncheon meeting of the Women's Advertising Club, Dietz said "that he doubts that (Continued on Page 3) National Video Film Council Organized National Television Film Council was organized at a meeting of reps, of television stations, advertising agencies, film distributors for video, package show producers and others at the Hotel Astor yesterday. New organization, among other (Continued on Page 3) Skouras Sees Films "Piped" Into Homes Telecasting of film programs into the home in order to counteract the inroads upon theater receipts that television may well make was envisaged yesterday by Spyros P. Skouras, 20th-Fox president, in reply to a stockholder's question concerning the company's plans to meet the possible threat of the new medium. "We are manufacturers of enter( Continued ori Page 8) Maas Leaves Saturday to Survey European Markets Irving Maas, vee-pee and general manager of the Motion Picture Export Association, will leave Saturday on the Queen Mary for a six-week trip to continental markets which will include Holland, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Aus( Continued on Page 8) CBC Adopts New Video Policy Canadian Tele Petitions to be Favored Actor's-MP Relief Funds Setting Plans for Fair Conferences on the joint fair to be held in November by the Actor's Fund of America and the Motion Picture Relief Fund are being conducted between Jean Hersholt, Relief Fund president; Walter Vincent, president of AF, John Golden, and (Continued on Page 7) Montreal — Maintaining that it "would not be in the general Canadian public interest for individual private television stations to become outlets in Canada for non-Canadian television systems," the Canadian Broadcasting Company's board of governors yesterday announced adoption of a policy of "great care in recommendations regarding applica( Continued on Page 3) First Quarter Profit Off To $2,926,842, but Second And 3rd Climbs — Skouras 20th-Fox's profits for the first 39 weeks of this year will equal the $10,608,098 earned by the company over the like period last year, Spyros P. Skouras, president, predicted yesterday at the annual meeting of stockholders. Skouras's statement came in the wake of the release of a first quarter report of a consolidated net profit amounting to $2,926,842, a decline of (Continued on Page 8) Divorcement Would Up Rentals— Skouras 20th-Fox, if eventually forced by the courts to divest itself of its theaters, will be able to dispose of the properties at "good prices," Spyros P. Skouras said yesterday, so that the company's financial position would not be adversely affected. Responding to a stockholder's (Continued on Page 7) Doubt Hughes RKO Deal Will Bring MPAA Action Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington — No word has been received from RKO concerning its future MPAA membership, nor has the MPAA board taken any step toward a meeting to consider the RKO status, it was learned here yesterday. (Continued on Page 2) Johnston to Meet on Dividing U. K. Pix $$ Washington Bur., THE FILM DAILY Washington — MPAA prexy Eric A. Johnston left here last night for three days of meetings in New York, with some hope that final decisions on the disposition of the earnings of British films in this country among American distributors operating in the United Kingdom will be reached. As yet no final decision is believed to have been achieved, although MPAA officials here believe there is agreement on the principles.