The Film Daily (1948)

Production Diet •Vi ntimate in Character [international in Scope ndependent in Thought FILE COPY Th« 9 Daily N ewspaper Of Motion Pictures Now Thirty Years Old £"yff^93, NO. 101 NEW YORK, TUESDAY, MAY 25, 1948 TEN CENTS REncH GERmnn zone firnv get u.s. pik Wilson Slights U.S. in Films Council Makeup Reeling 'Bound WASHINGTON By ANDREW H. OLDER = WASHINGTON HILE it's the Sherman Act angles which are of most immediate importance to the industry, a good deal of headscratching has been caused by that portion 'bf the recent Paramount decision in which ^Supreme Court Justice Douglas said plainly Jthat pix deserve the protection of the First "Amendment. The head-scratching and the iporing over lawbooks will go on for a while, after which it seems likely that a Federal •court somewhere might be asked to grant a permanent injunction against the local censorship setup. This, of course, will mean a battle which will probably go to the high court. • • THE unknowns are many. For instance, ■ did Justice Douglas intend to invite a test of the right of local censorship? That would not be out of line with his own record of liberalism. Or had he forgotten about the 1915 decision in which the high court held that pix were not entitled to First Amendment protection but had instead to submit to local censorship in Kansas and Ohio? (The late great Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes remarked years after that this was one of his few determinations while on the court which he had since come to regret.) • • I F Douglas was consciously inviting a test, ' there is still the question, does he know how the court will hold? An adverse ruling could be worse than no ruling for the industry. On the face of it, a majority of the court would seem to be upholding the First Amendment language of Douglas — and that is probably the case. But lawyers know there are times in the past when justices have omitted the filing of dissents on points in the court opinion which are not of major importance in the case under consideration. • • IT is held certain that any attempt to use ' the ruling would mean a battle going back to the Supreme Court — and it is likely that a detailed decision specifically on the issue would follow. If an appellate court were to hold for an injunction against local censorship, the high court could by refusing to review the lower court's decision reaffirm its position. But it is far more likely that an opinion would be written specifically on the question of freedom of the screen. And it is certain that the brief passage in the Paramount opinion would not in itself be strong enough to sustain a lower court ruling for complete screen freedom without at the least a petition to the high tribunal. Ignores American Distribs. And Picks Baker, Jarrat To Represent the Renters London (By Cable) — Decision of Harold Wilson, president of the Board of Trade, to wholly ignore the U. S. in Films Council representation has American distribs. here openly burning. Instead of designating any Americans to serve Wilson has chosen Maj. Reginald P. Baker, managing director of Ealing Studios, and Sir Arthur Jarrat, deputy chairman and managing director of British Lion, as distributor representatives. This in reality will bolster the (Continued on Page 7) Tele Won't Pay Para. Price for Newsreels Paramount has been dickering with potential television sponsors for its newsreel for some time, Paul Raibourn, vice-president, said Friday, but as yet has found no one ready to meet the company's terms. "We can't turn out a good newsreel for the price they are willing (Continued on Page 12) Would Give Studios Power To Fire "Subversives" Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington — Studios could fire employes as "subversive" without being guilty of unfair labor practices, according to a proposal advanced yesterday by Representative (Continued on Page 11) EXTOL PIX' ROLE IN COMMUNITY Council Hears H. M. Warner Tell of Social Achievements Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington — As part of and beyond its primary function of entertainment, the motion picture theater has been a key factor, along with the church and schools in furthering community programs, Harry M. Warner, president of Warner Bros., declared yesterday before the National Council for Community Improvement. Pointing out that the motion picture has been a real force in community life, with the film theater in a community (Continued on Page 11) Canada Mulls Public Relations Program Toronto — Eyeing early results of the public relations program initiated in the U. S. by the MPAA's advertising-publicity committee, industry toppers here are giving serious (Continued on Page 12) WARNER U.S. Wants Reversal — Schine Reply Brief Scouts 'Clarification' Aspect Double Eagle Lion Co-op. Budgets for "Raw Deal" Eagle Lion will double its normal cooperative ad-publicity-exploitation budgets for all regional engagements of the Edward Small production, "Raw Deal," Max E. Youngstein, vice-president, announced yesterday. At the same time Youngstein revealed that the picture would be re(Continued on Page 7) Washington Bureau of THE FILM DA ILY Washington — The Department of Justice seeks not clarification but rather to have the U. S. Supreme Court reverse itself when it raises a question about five theaters still unsold despite a 1942 consent to their disposition, the Schine Circuit told the court in a reply filed at the weekend. The Government seeks "patently not clarification . . . but to persuade (Continued on Page 11) Theaters in Saar Included; Hinges on Application of The Decartelization Laws Negotiations leading to the application of decartelization laws to the French zone' of occupied Germany and the Saar basin are now in progress and if successful will open up those areas to American pictures, Marian F. Jordan, MPEA general manager for Germany, told the industry press at an interview yesterday. Application of the laws, which prohibit any individual or concern from (Continued on Page 7) British Film Inquiry To Be Started in Fall London (By Air Mail) — Committee of Inquiry into motion picture exhibition and distribution is scheduled to be set up in time to start its work this Fall, Harold Wilson, president of the Board of Trade, stated in Commons. Answering questions from the (Continued on Page 12) AITO to Fight 16 mm. Showings in Kansas-Mo. Minneapolis — Fearing that 16 mm. could eventually eliminate the small town exhibitor, Allied Independent Theater Owners of Kansas and Missouri has asked members to report (Continued on Page 7) \settp Sees Allied Policy as 'Pointless' Allied 's policy that its membership will make only three-month deals with ASCAP was regarded by a Society spokesman yesterday as pointless since the Courts will soon decide whether ASCAP's position is tenable. If it is, the ASCAP spokesman said, then Allied or any other group seeking to make a series of tentative deals might find out that such deals are not available. On the other hand, he added, if the Court finds against ASCAP, then a whole new arrangement would have to be made with all concerned.