The Film Daily (1945)

12 : W*^ DAILY Tuesday, January 2, 1945 4,219 Pix Cos. Earned $172,337,000 in 1942 (Continued from Page 1) declared value excess profits tax, $362,000. Aggregate excess profits tax liability is nearly eight billion dollars, with a compilation showing the distribution among industrial groups still being prepared. Dividends paid in cash or assets other than own stock amounted to $44,492,000. Of the 4,219 pix returns, 2,742 showed net income and 1,308 no net income. Gross income of the latter was $82,654,000, with a deficit of $5,470. Eighteen consolidated returns were filed by pix companies, with 13 reporting a gross income of $202,279,300 for 249 subsidiaries and a net injome of $27,855,000, of which $5,888,000 was subject to the excess profits tax. Income tax payments amounted to $8,335,000, and dividends paid in cash and assets other than own stock amounted to $10,178,000. Five returns for 22 subsidiaries showed gross receipts of $4,961,000 with a deficit of $324,000. Dividends received on domestic stock by pix companies amounted to $16,670,000, of whicti $329,000 was on Government obligations less amortizable bond premium; $163,000 of this was wholly taxable, $16,000 subject to declared value excess profits tax and surtax, $29,000 subject to surtax only and $21,000 wholly tax exempt. Of the returns with no net income reported, receipt of $70,000 from domestic stock dividends was reported, of which $6,000, all wholly taxable, was from Government obligations. Merger Deadline Voting On Deadline on receipt of ballots from members of the Screen Office and Professional Employes Guild, Local 109, CIO, on a proposal to merge the union with Local 1 of the United Office and Professional Workers of America was set back a week yesterday to Jan. 8. The UOPWA is the parent of Local 109. Dismiss Bioff Tax Indictment West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Federal income tax charges against William Bioff were dismissed by Federal Judge Ralph E. Jenney at the request of United States Attorney Lewellyn J. Moses. Indictment alleging evasion by Bioff of $85,000 in income taxes for 193637 has been pending in Federal Court for five years. IN NEW POSTS REVIEmS or SHORT SUBJECTS GEORGE MAXWELL, manager, Palace, Syracuse. BERNARD M. DABNEY, JR., assistant to Jack Flex, Keith's, Syracuse. HERBERT BERMAN, city salesman, PRC, Detroit. HARRY W. IRONS, booker, Universal Pictures, Detroit. LOUIS PARINE, manager, Mack-Uptown, Detroit. "New Americans" (This Is America) RKO 191/2 Mins. Good The refugee is the subject of the latest of the series. The footage emphasizes the contribution made to this nation's life by the refugees in return for the sanctuary accorded them by the American Government. The film conveys its point by following a newcomer to our shores from his arrival, through the process of rehabilitation and up to the moment he becomes a citizen. Shown are many famous refugees from whose presence the United States has profited, two of them being Prof. Albert Einstein and Thomas Mann. Directed by Slavko Vorkapich, the jhort was made with the cooperation of the National Refugee Service. "Parallel Skiing" (Sportscope) RKO 8 Mins. Good Sports Subject A lesson in parallel skiing as practiced by Fritz Loosli, Swiss star, this short, which captures all the winter beauty of its Laurentian Mountains (Canada) setting, will win the enthusiasm of lovers of snow sports. Slow motion helps to grasp Loosli's technique. The film abounds in thrills. "I Am An American" Warner Bros. 20 Mins. Inspiring A tribute to the spirit of America, this featurette, written and directed by Crane Wilbur, is intended to make one proud of one's country. The short, well produced by Gordon Hollingshead, pays its respects to the American way of life by tracing the rise of an immigrant family to a place of honor in the nation's life. An exercise in Americanism, the production serves the purpose of advancing tolerance and unity among our people. A sequence dealing with "I Am An American Day" (May 21, 1944) ends the film on a stirring note. The main fault with the film is its treatment has a touch of the banal. "Long Shots or Favorites" (Grantland Rice Sportlight) Paramount 9'/2 mins. A Sure Bet Here is some of the "inside" of horse racing that should be of interest to those whose acquaintance with the sport of kings is limited to the position of a spectator. Especially recommended are scenes dealing with handicapping procedure. Belmont Park on Long Island is the setting. One of the big races at that track provides an exciting finish. St. Louis Looming as Leading Television Key (Continued from Page 1) Star-Times Publishing Co., publishers of the St. Louis Star-Times, afternoon newspaper and operator of radio station KXOK, has now filed application with FCC for permit CO operate a tele station under channel 2, a frequency of 60,000-66,000 kilocycles, which would be of 4,000watt visual and 2,000-watt audible power, covering an estimated radius of 40 miles. In addition to the Star-Times, the St. Louis GlobeDemocrat and the Post-Dispatchowned station, KSD, have also filed tele permit applications, and WIL, WEW and KFUO are well along in planning post-war tele. Harry C. Arthur, Jr president and general manager of Fanchon & Marco Service Corp., which operates some 35 film theaters in this area, is definitely interested, and realistically so, in commercial possibilities of transmitting tele programs in the post-war period, and has already leased several desirable locations with that end in view. Epidemic of tele activity on the part of broadcasting interests here points to the inevitability of this city being included in national video by means of coaxial cable lines now being installed by Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. in conjunction with AT & T. The Bell System expects to have some 7,000 miles of such cable in operation by 1950. Montgomery Outlaws Jukes in Home Areas Montgomery, Ala. — Under the new Mayor David Dunn, the city has voted to take the juke box out of resigential areas and confine it to swing centers outside the zoning area A after Jan. 1. Violation is punishable with a fine from $1 to $100 or 90 days in prison or both. Vote came upon heels of Grand Jury report declaring juke boxes a public nuisance in residential areas. Yorke in Near East Deal Emerson Yorke Studio here has contracted with Sodeco Trading Corp. for short product theater releases in the Near East area, comprising Iran, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and Turkey. First two shorts set for release by the Yorke Studio in 1945 under terms of the pact are the color subjects "The Ninth State" and "Highways of New Zealand." Metro Exploiteers Due The first group of three M-G-M exploiteers scheduled to arrive in New York for a week's visit with department heads, will include J. E. Watson, Cincinnati; Charles C. Deardourff, Cleveland, and Norman Linz, Indianapolis. The men will arrive Jan. 8. LETTERS Knoepfle Heads Cincy Club Cincinnati — Rudy Knoepfle, Republic Pictures rep., was elected prexy of Cincinnati Cinema Club, with Pete Niland, Columbia, secretary and treasurer; Bob Burns, first vicepresident and Marc Cummings second vice-president. f Emms TOUCH Editor, The Film Daily: I would deeply appreciate the courtesy of the publication of this letter in your columns. x^fJ Men and women in the theatrical wk film, radio and entertainment fiek^iT have been extremely co-operative in the work of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. That work, as you know, is the furtherance of understanding, goodwill and collaboration among Americans of all faiths; and the development by sound programs of education of a resistance to hatreds, bigotries and intolerances. I turn to you now because I have great confidence that in our Brotherhood Week observance for next year, your readers can be highly effective in bringing the message of American brotherhood to all the American people. Brotherhood Week will be celebrated in 1945 from Feb. 18 to Feb. 25, the week of Washington's Birthday. In past years. Brotherhood Week has been observed in over 3,000 communities throughout the country. Everywhere it became the nucleus for public interest and attention to the tasks of an undivided America determined to resist propagandas of hatred and confusion. Our next Brotherhood Week observance will be primarily devoted to directing the attention of the American people to the danger of revivals of post-war hate movements. After the last World War there was an unfortunate growth of such hate movements, particularly in the form of the Ku Klux Klan. We should like in due time to put the American people on their guard against the pernicious effects of such movements on all Americans. We invite correspondence from your readers as to how they can be helpful in this effort. From past experience I know that their help can be of immeasurable value. Sincerely yours, EVERETT R. CLINCHY President, National Conference of Christians and Jews HELEN FERGUSON, publicity director for Constance Bennett's "Paris Underground." WILLIAM BLOWITZ, publicity director, Mary Pickford Productions unit.