The Film Daily (1947)

Tuesday, February 4, 1947 E ID DAILY B Will Spend $25 Million in Britain (Continued from Page II till be in charge, Warners supplying .noducer, director and stars. Pix will iave definite British background. Renovation and repair of the ElsTee Studios, owned by ABP, will reiii-j^m outlay of eight million dolai*" Yeddington Studios, owned by VB. will cost three million dollars in lebuilding. Blitzed buildings, Warner said, get priorities on materials. lie expects both studios to be ready or production within the next six ■nonths at which time he will return o England. Upon completion of the six films, Warner emphasized that WB would withdraw from production in Great Britain. ABP in which WB has a -riV2 per cent investment will be in a trong enough position to go ahead tn its own, Warner said. "All that unnecessary talk of deimericanization of ABC films is tut," Warner asserted. All these •ears, Warner said, money had been '.owing from Great Britain to America, "we feel that money should start lowing from America to Great Britain." Asks More Aid to Britain In pleading for greater aid to Britain and to the rest of Europe, Earner made it clear that America .vould buy only quality pix suitable |or America. "There never has been tor ever will be room for bad picures no matter where they're made," ie amplified. Warner was quite certain that Britain will not nationalize any jranch of the film industry, referring o Cripps' statement that the government would not take over any field in vhich the arts played an important >art, and "Cripps regards film proluction as an art." Warner also stated: "Rank is one ;•!' the best things that ever happened to the British industry. I lever met Rank personally. He is loing what others have failed. . . . dotion Picture attendance in Great Britain and France is as good as fever. . . . New quota laws, as I see :t, will be a quota on theaters, not on oroduction. . . . French film market -s in good shape . . ." LHtte MeuMiM^»2 SOL LESSER'S, "The Red House, has adopted 10 Greek war orphans, it was announced yesterday by the Greek War Relief Association. A check for of )0 orphans for a year, was turned over to the Association. , representing the care STORK REPORTS t -= | Chicago — Pete Panagos, promodon manager for the Alliance Theater circuit, announces the birth of *a seven pound, two ounce baby boy ;at the Presbyterian Hospital. THE THOMAS ALVA EDISON centennial dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria will be telecast by NBC Television Station WNBT tonight. Leaders in the electrical industry as well as high military officers will be among the guests. B b K COMMON STOCK is bid 110 with no offerings, according to Chicago brokers. • MYLES CONNOLLY, screen writer associated with Henry Koster at Universal and M-G-M during the past five years, was signed by William Cagney over the week-end and again joins the director for scripting of Saroyan's "The Time of Your Life." • "THE SHOCKING MISS PILGRIM," 20th Century-Fox Technicolor musical, will have its New York premiere at the Roxy on Feb. 11, following a four-week engagement of "13 Rue Madeleine." • ITS WORK OF ENTERTAINING the men and women of the armed forces in camps and hospitals has won the Paramount Pictures Choral Society a citation from the American National Red Cross. The society which is under the direction of Edith Morgan savage, serves on a voluntary basis. Competitive Bidding Reagan Says Para. Exhib/s Prerogative To Step Up Releases Chicago — Irving Mack, Filmack orexy, is a grand-dad for the first :ime. His son, Donald, associated is'ith the company, is the father of a six pound, six ounce baby boy, named 3arry Allen, born at the Meyer House Hospital. (Continued from Page 1) ite conclusion" that there "shall be either non-competitive licensing or competitive, and the latter only, if invoked by the exhibitor." In corroboration, Levy quoted a portion of the court's memorandum tiled at the same time as the decree in which the judges said: "In order to meet some of the objections raised at the hearing to the system of bidding for features described in the opinion of the court, we have modified the system there proposed so that competitive bidding will only be necessary within a competitive area and in such area where it is desired by the exhibitors." Commenting on the phrasing by the court, Levy said "it seems obvious that the court intended that competitive bidding should be invoked by the exhibitor and not by the distributor." Levy also called the Virginia group's attention to a statement made by Judge Goddard at the Jan. 21 hearing on certain motions filed by the defendants. At one point Judge Goddard inquired of Thurman Arnold, ATA counsel, "Judge Arnold, are you opposed to giving the exhibitor the option of competitive bidding?" Levy also told the group that the court sounded the "death knell of buying combines, definitely for the defendants and by indirection at least, for all other exhibitors as well." "Whether or not," Levy said, ' that language of the court could be used by some future court as precedent for outlawing independent combines is a matter that attorneys could spend much time discussing." "As a practical matter, however, disregarding entirely the question of legality or illegality of buying combines it appears to me that they have lost their usefulness under the system of licensing promulgated by the court." (Continued from Page 1) will release at least as many and possibly more pix than in the whole of the 1945-46 season when the company distributed 25. Reagan added that the pix going out will include top quality product, representative of the heaviest financial investment in the company's history. Reagan and the home office, studio and British execs, who participated in the studio meetings viewed 10 completed pix, including "Unconquered," "The Emperor Waltz," "Perils of Pauline," "Welcome Stranger, "Golden Earrings," "My Favorite Brunette," "Blaze of Noon," 'Wild Harvest," "Dear Ruth," and 'Desert Fury." In commenting on the conference i results, Prexy Barney Balaban, who ! returned with Reagan, said: "During the past 10 months Paramount has sent some of its most important and best informed executives to countries all over the world. The result of their surveys and conclusions in connection with the many problems that have developed in foreign countries since the end of hostilities was discussed in all of its phases as it concerns Paramount production, sales and distribution throughout the world." The returning party included George Weltner, president of Paramount International Films. Adolph Zukor, Russell Holman, Alan Jackson and Frank Farley are expected back in New York next Monday. Curtis Mitchell returns on Wednesday. James E. Perkins, chairman and managing director for Great Britain, also will return later. Decree Amendments By Distribs. Denied (Continued from Page 1) tiibutors had requested a two-year period lor such dissolution. With the New York Court finally committed, further motions for either a stay of specific provisions or modification of the decree must now take the form of an appeal to the U. S. Supreme Court. It is likely that such appeals will now be expedited since several companies have been waiting for action on their motion for amendment before deciding the basis for appeal. The decision yesterday was no surprise to most industry observers since the Court had strongly hinted at the hearing held for presentation of arguments in support of both the "Big Five" and "Little Three" motions that no changes would be made at this time, but that the Court retailed jurisdiction in the matter and could modify its decision if the decree did not work out in practice. Rejected by the Court were "Big Five" proposals for limited acquisition of theaters by the defendants, postponement of the effective date of the competitive bidding provisions until the Supreme Court has had an opportunity to review the case and modification of the charge of conspiracy in fixing admission prices, run, clearance and other license terms. Universale motion to allow certain types of franchise deals and United Artists' request for the shifting of the burden of proof in legal action involving clearance from the distributor to the exhibitor were also denied. Aronson, Goltz Named To New MPA-MPEA Posts (Continued from Page ll Joe C. Goltz, for 18 years engaged in international film distribution with United Artists, and Loew's. Paul Huldschinsky Dead Santa Monica, Calif. — Paul Oscar Huldschinsky, set designer who won the first Academy "Oscar" ever presented in that phase of the film industry, died Saturday at his home. Wally Granger Dead Sydney (By Air Mail) — Wally Granger, 51, representative in Australia for Walt Disney Prods., died suddenly following his return from America. Granger was taken ill in the boat coming over.