The Film Daily (1940)

Friday, January 26, 1940 DAILY 17 "U" MAY SIMPLIFY ITS CORPORATE SETUP (Continued from Page 1) last year and a net loss of $1,08^T\8 in 1937. C^Wdin pointed out that consolidation of the parent company and the operating company would involve recapitalization and that it was hoped a report on such a project could be submitted to stockholders this year. Universale steady rise in volume, cash position and earnings during the last three years can be seen by the figures in the current statement. As to volume, an increase of $88,000 was reported from the start of the new fiscal year, Dec. 23, 1939, over the same period of 1938. Fourth quarter net earnings were $366,325 against a profit of $161,929 in the corresponding quarter of the preceding fiscal year. The consolidated balance sheet of Universal Pictures and subsidiaries at Oct. 28, 1939, showed a net working capital of $6,512,194, an increase of approximately $900,000 as compared with the corresponding date of 1938. During the three years ending Oct. 28 last, Universal increased its gross income $5,727,992 or 31.5 per cent. A net loss from operations of $1,030,488 has been converted into a net operating profit of $1,578,078, an improvement of $2,608,566. "That the increase in net working capital has not been sufficient in itself to support the enlarged program of the company," the statement reads, "is evidenced, however, by the fact that due to the increased inventory, the bank loans at Oct. 30, 1939, amounted to $3,117,460, or an increase of $1,042,500 in the 12-month period." Foreign business has been larger during the 1939 period compared with the previous year. The statement points out that the company's foreign business in 1939 accounted for $8,987,128 of the year's revenue, or 37.64 per cent of the total. Costs of labor reached an alltime high last year, it was said, resulting in a serious problem in reducing basic picture costs. Taxes have increased 93.96 per cent over 1937. Last year, Universal paid 81.8 cents in taxes for every dollar of net profit. Modernizations and improvements to the studio cost approximately $700,000 last year. R€UJS Of TH€ DAV Dover, N. H. — Melvin Morrison, manager of the Strand Theater, has been elected president of the Dover Retail Merchants' Association. WB Reargument Motion Lost Albany — The Court of Appeals yesterday denied the motion of Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., for reargument of the William La Varre plagiarism case. The court recently decided the facts should be determined by a jury. Las Cruces, New Mexico — V. P. Byrne formerly of Delta Colorado is succeeding E. D. Nelson as manager of the Rio Grande Theater here. Nelson is being transferred to the Hiawatha Theater in Denver. New Haven — Boston Amusement Corporation has been incorporated here with a $50,000 capitalization and Elsie Gurian, Samuel R. Hadelman, and Ida Echter, of New Haven, as incorporators. Hadelman operates the Capitol, Bridgeport, and has just acquired the Colonial, Bridgeport. Chicago — M. Abrams, N. N. Gross and L. Shapiro, all well-known to the Chicago film trade, have organized the Met Amusement Corporation with offices at 238 West 31st Street to operate film theaters. Cincinnati — Warner's Yarrow Miller, Jimmy Brunetti and Sam Oshrey, Paramount's Ross Spencer, BF Rights, Don Duff and Metro's Tom McMahon are captains of the newly reorganized Film Row Bowling teams. Albany — Fabian changes announced by Lou Golding, area manager, send George Seed in as manager of The Hall, Oscar Perrin moving over to The Grand. Larry Cowan is supervising manager of both the aters. Seed formerly managed the Colonial, last-run Utica house now showing vodvil. Cleveland — Dick Deutsch of the Dick Deutsch Printing Co. and Nate Gerson of Real Art Pictures, have been appointed official territorial distributors for Keen-O-Kwizz, screen game. Miami Beach, Fla.— Ferd Midelburg, owner of a chain of movie theaters in West Virginia and Kentucky, has bought a $30,000 winter residence on Biscayne waterway and plans to spend at least a part of his time here. Miami — To celebrate the conclusion of its school session for employees, Wometco Theaters gave 70 of its ushers, assistant managers and managers a "graduation" banquet here Monday night at the Royal Palm Club. Morning Sun, la. — The Electric Theater has opened under new management of C. J. Sears who purchased the house recently from E. L. Hohns. The house has been closed for three weeks for repairs. Fordyce, Ark. — Gerry Doig, manager of the Dallas Theater here for the past several months, has been transferred to Waldron where he is in charge of remodeling another house which was recently bought by K. Lee Williams Theaters, Inc. Lew Stocker, Hobbs, N. M., will succeed Doig as manager. Plans Coast, New York Shows For Actors' Locals' Home West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Edward Arnold, president of AFRA and active in 4-A's, has announced plans for a gigantic dinner and show at Cocoanut Grove, Feb. 22, to raise funds to provide a home for the locals of actors' unions. Plans are to buy or lease a building. Many of the biggest names have agreed to appear on the program with skits and songs. Plans are being made to hold the same type of show at Astor Hotel in New York on the same night. New Theaters W. of Rockies Cost $3,850,000 in 1939 West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Estimated cost of new theater construction in the territory west of the Rocky Mountains for 1939 is $3,850,000, while cost of remodeling houses was $2,420,000. Joins Birdwell Office Ethel Butterworth, formerly with M-G-M and Columbia as a writer, has joined Russell Birdwell and Associates. GWTW in Two Move-overs at Miami and Miami Beach Miami, Fla. — Although more than 65,000 persons saw GWTW at the Olympia in Miami and Sheridan in Miami Beach, during the 8-day showing, so great is the demand for seats that the pix is held for another week, moving over to the Colony in Miami Beach and the Roxy in Miami. Enough money was left at the offices the first day of sale to fill both theaters for three days, according to W. R. Lynch, general manager of Paramount Enterprises, Inc. Reds Delete Nazi Affronts from Eisenstein's Picture Moscow (By Cable) — In an effort to whip up patriotism in its war with Finland, Russia's propaganda department has reissued Sergei Eisenstein's "Alexander Nevsky," after ordering deletion of all episodes in any way derogatory to the Nazis, but leaving in any that might offend the Fascists, since Italy is giving help to the Soviets' enemy, Finland. FOUR-POINT PROGRAM BEFORE MEX. INDUSTRY (Continued from Page 1) steady basis, there are at present only three new pictures scheduled to begin shooting within the next 10 days. Camera work was completed last week at the studios of Cinematografica Latino Americana, S. A. on Films Mundiales, S. A.'s "Que viene mi Marido" (There Comes my Husband), with Arturo de Cordova, Domingo Soler, Carlos Lopez Moctezuma, Julian Soler, Julieta Palavicini and Beatriz Ramos heading the cast. An adaptation of the stage success of Spanish playwright Carlos Arniches, was megaphoned by Chano Urueta. At the plant of Gabriel Garcia Moreno (Estudios Azteca), Producciones Rene Cardona has just finished shooting "Amor de los Amores" (Love of Loves), under the direction of Rene Cardona himself and with Josefina Escobedo, Rafael Falcon and Carlos Riquelme topping the cast. These two pictures are additions to the list of more than 30 Mexicanmade films which are yet to be released despite the official decree issued last October making it compulsory for all picture theaters to play native productions. Only 11 native pictures have had releases since the publication of the decree, with many houses having failed to date to comply with it, notwithstanding the fact that they may incur government sanctions for such a failure. Latest Mexican picture released was Producciones Fenix, A. en P.'s "La Locura de Don Juan" (The Madness of Don Juan), with Leopoldo ("El Chata") Ortin starring and Tomas Perrin, Susana Guizar, Miguel Montemayor, Carlos Lopez Moctezuma, Rafael Icardo and Emma Roldan heading the supporting cast. Adapted by Marco-Aurelio Galindo from the play by celebrated Spanish dramatist Carlos Arniches, it was made into a deftly-handled, fastmoving farce of family life by director Gilberto Martinez Solares. A new producing company is being organized under the name fo ARIEL by Ernesto Santos Galindo, who last year produced with Miguel de Leon, a version of Jorge Isaac's novel, "Maria." ARIEL plans to produce four pictures within the coming 12-month. Goldstone Asks Accounting Phil Goldstone Productions filed suit yesterday in the New York Supreme Court against Majestic Pictures Corp., Major Film Laboratories, Herman Gluckman and Thomas W. Evans, for $35,000 and an accounting. Plaintiff claims that Majestic received distribution rights to 10 of the plaintiff's films and later assigned 16 mm. rights to these films without the plaintiff's permission.