The Film Daily (1945)

-^'nday, August 6, 1945 "ate 11 ranco-Amer. Film Tangle May go to De Gaulle nistries' Proposal for jp Up of U. S. Imports ^wed as 'Horse Trading' (Continued frain Page 1) 'arrives here for his visit of [e. indignation which has recentown up in motion picture induscircles both in New York and llywood as a result of the dispiinatory proposals blandly adeed by French officialdom that product be slashed down to 40 cent of the total permitted under 1 Franco-American trade agreent of 1936 is merely the commer1 side of the case. The legal and ec ral sides are what give sharp conn to responsible Government chans here. 1936 Pact Still Stands France is bound, it is pointed out, the 1936 agreement. This is a saty which neither our Government r that of Fiance has denounced, nsequently it is still in force. This the basic fact, and the inescapable ment which is causing much eyeow-lifting behind the scenes in th the State Department and diploatic quarters, each equally surised that the new France, heavily debted to the U. S. for her delivance from the Nazi yoke, should anifest any intention to toy with eaty obligations. Some observers here attribute the rench attitude to "a desiie to do a ttle horse-trading," which is recfnized as something of a national jaracteristic. It is pointed out in lis connection that the French Mintries of Economy and Film Eduition may well be using American Im import slash as a weapon to get annual block of more than 25 rench-inade productions into the )'. S. Actually such a proposal is nown to have been made by the ead of the French Propaganda in 16 Ministry of Film Education. The 1936 trade agreement proided for an authorized importation nnually of 150 American pictures ut of a total of 188 pictures of forign origin. It is now proposed, in lear violation of the 1936 agreelent, to allow 60 American films to oine in annually, along with 60 of tussian and 60 of British origin. See Effect on Relations It is pointed out here that Russia md Britain are not the ones who are In GI Parlance Indianapolis — The genuine imported brand of G.I. talk is falling on civilian ears with new impact these days. The cashier at Loew's Theater was contfronted by a bedecked trio of ribboned vets during the past week who said: 'Three dog-face tickets, please." FRENCH TRY PRESSURING U. S. COS. Distribs. Told We Should Import More Than 23 Pix Annually to Get Better Break Paris (By Air Mail) — M. Corduray, head of the French Propaganda Department in the Ministry of Film Education, received the American distributors' representatives and informed them that France was willing to admit an "important quantity" of U. S. pictures, providing, that more than 25 French pictures are purchased by U. S. companies for American distribution. Corduray told the American delegation that, the National Assoc, of French Producers that sent an ap peal to him to press for the increased distribution of French pictures in the U. S. English and Russian imports will also depend on those countries' pui'chases of French pictures — England has guaranteed a minimum of 25 pictures to be purchased from France, annually it was said. Corduray also told the American group that the matter must anyway, rest in abeyance until the new devaluation of French money is established and a decision will be made only after the October elections. Foreign Language Film Circuit Looms in Mich. Detroit — Plans for a small circuit of theaters in Michigan to be devoted to foreign language films are being projected by a new group to be known as World Theaters, it has been learned. Company is understood to be completely financed, and to have the sites for four theaters already acquired, in Flint, Saginaw, Grand Rapids, and Detroit. Plans are to construct the four houses, to be 700 seats or under in size, according to the size of the town, with probably breaking of ground in the Fall. The Detroit house is to be on Woodward Avenue, about three blocks from the Film Exchange Building. Policy will be to run foreign films together with news reels and news event films, exclusively. Backers of the move have not been disclosed as yet. PRC Ups Stern, Lehman, Lee, Miller in Distrib. (Continued from Page 1) from Los Angeles branch manager to West Coast district manager and Sidney Lehman has been upped from salesman to Los Angeles branch head. Mike Lee, former Kansas City branch manager for Monogram, has been named PRC manager in the same city. Lee also will supervise Des Moines and Omaha office. Joe Miller has been appointed district manager for Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland and Cincinnati. ment exemplifying the best of relationships between the two countries. giving food, clothing, and a plethora of other supplies which are essential to put France back on its feet. It is the U. S., — and for France to penalize American product by coldly and arbitrarily reducing it to the trade status of the other countries' films is scarcely calculated to improve Franco-American relations. Most of the pressure which is be ; ing brought upon French Govern j ment officials springs from the high ; ly articulate and militant group of French producers, whose apparent \ desire to feather their own nests is \ to a large degree a contravention of \ exhibitors' desires, since U. S. prod j uct is, by comparison with native , product, enormously more remunerative at box-offices, and in greatest ' demand among the rank and file alike of France's moviegoers. When the 1936 agreement was concluded, after difficult and protracted negotiations, handled with great skill through trade representation, the State Department, and the French Commercial Attache, it was hailed in both countires as a docu State Dept. Intervening In FrancoAmerican Pix Storm Scripps Howard newspapers declared on Friday that the trade row which is threatening because of barriers being raised by France against U. S. movies is "sufficiently serious that the State Department is trying to find an amicable settlement," and that "numerous complaints are being received from U. S. businessmen against restrictive trade practices abroad." The Scripps-Howard version of the fight now on contains the assertion that the French Government holds that 55 per cent of all movie theater time should be reserved for French movies, and that "it was left to the French film industry and the U. S. industry to work out an arrangement," and that the French industry "proposed drastic cutting of the number of U. S. films." The newspaper chain's account then declares: "U. S. px-oducers agreed to accept a cut from 188 to 108." Confirmation of no such agreement could be obtained on the week-end from any industry source. The figure of 188 has been established as the , total number of foreign pix which France permitted for importation, and that the U. S. product given import license under terms of the 1936 trade agreement was 150. Depinet Opens RKO N. Y. Regional Today (Continued from Page D Peter Rathvon, Depinet, Phil Reisman, Robert Mochrie, Maj. L. E. Thompson, Walter Branson, R. J. Folliard, Fred Ullman, Jr., Robert Wolff, J. C. Osserman and Charles Julian. Scheduled to attend the RKO conference from the home office in addition to those mentioned are: Nat Levy, Harry Michalson, M. J. Poller, Frank Drumm, Harry Gittleson, Gus Schaefer, Charles Boasberg, and S. Barret McCormick. Charles W. Koerner, president in charge of production, and Perry Lieber, studio advertising and publicity director are attending from the studio. Representing International Pictures at the RKO conference will be A. WSchwalberg, Robert Goldstein, Arthur Jeffrey, and Ben Schectman. Representing Samuel Goldwyn are James Mulvey, William J. Heineman, and Ben Washer. During the three-day meetings, luncheons will be held in the Wedgwood Room. Tonight the visitors from the exchanges will be the company's guests at the musical "On the Town" at the Martin Beck Theater. RKO's Canadian Conclave In Montreal on Sept. 9-13 Montreal— RKO will hold its Canadian national convention in the Windsor Hotel, Sept. 9 to 13, when Ned Depinet, president and all important executives from New York City, as well as all Canadian bi-anch heads and executive officers will attend. The Montreal convention, besides being national for Canada will correspond to a fifth American regional convention. 49 Shooting This Week West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Three new pictures go into production this week, making a total of 49 shooting. IN NEW POSTS PAUL WORTHEN, manager, Rialto, Teoria, Ml. SEAN ANDERSON, assistant manager, Rialto, Peoria, III. jAMES McDANNOLD, manager, Defray, Delray, Fla. A. H. WHEDON, manager. Royal, Tampa, Fla. ARNOLD SFIRRISON, service manager, DuPage theater, Lombard, III. BILL LISSNER, Columbia salesman, Cleveland. TONY REINMAN, assistant booker, Columbia, Cleveland. LEONARD STEFFENS, head booker, Columbia, Cleveland. BILL CROSS, Columbia's city salesman, Cleveland.