The Film Daily (1948)

VTHE Intimate in Character International in Scope Independent in Thought V^ The Daily Newspaper Of Motion Pictures Twenty-Nine Years Old FDAILY VJ 93, NO. 12 NEW YORK, MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 1948 TEN CENTS CflMDfl TO EDO 20% THEATER GROSSES TflH Senate Passes Mundi Bill To Set Up Into Service Measure Authorizes Gov't Purchase of Pix; Hearings On Frozen $$ Urged 1 Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington — The Senate Friday passed by a voice vote the Mundt Bill establishing a permanent United States information service, and indications are that the measure — passed last year by the House in somewhat different form — will be given early consideration in the House. Amendments to the Senate bill as drawn up last month were slight, and indications are that there will not be any (Continued on Page 6) Myers Probes ASCAP's Legality, Hits Methods Washington Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Washington — Abram F. Myers, Allied States board chairman and general counsel, has filed a new memorandum with the Department of Justice questioning ASCAP's legality and attacking the Society's (Continued on Page 6) City Licenses for Tele Bars, Urges Fred Schwartz Amusement licenses for New York taverns and bars using television sets was suggested at the weekend by ;Fred J. Schwartz, vice-president of Century Theaters, as a source of additional revenue for the City Treasury. Schwartz pointed out that the .number of bars that act as small (Continued on Page 6) Nab 75 Spanish Film Men on Coin Charges Madrid (By Cable) —Accused of currency manipulations, approximately 75 film men, including several representatives of American distributors, were arrested by the Government during the past week. While many have been released, including Spaniards in the employ of American companies, the representative of one U. S. company is reported still held. Spain has not been granting foreign exchange for film earnings. Only 7 Per Cent See Communist Propaganda in Films, Star-Tribune Finds in Minneapolis Poll Minneapolis — Only seven per cent of those polled in a survey conducted by the Star-Tribune thought that Communists had been very successful in getting propaganda into American films. Another 26 per cent thought they had been fairly successful, while 49 per cent said they had not been successful and 18 per cent had no opinion. Questions in the poll were asked only of those who had heard about the Un-American Activities Committee hearings, comprising 80 per cent of the total sample. Asked to recall a film containing Communist propaganda, 70 per cent could not. On the question of whether or not the probe was helpful in exposing Communists, 46 per cent agreed that it was, while 36 per cent thought the investigations were of no use and 18 per cent held no opinion. U-l's"AIIMySons" Will be Roadshown West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — In a move to secure maximum results for the exhibitor as well as the distributor, U-I has scheduled "All My Sons" for a special roadshow release, William A. Scully, vice-president and general sales manager, announced Friday. Prints of the film will be in the exchanges by Feb. 1, but it will not be released until April 15, so that (Continued on Page 6) Allied to Charter Ship For MidWest Regional Hastings, Mich. — MidWest area members of National Allied will hold a meeting June 22-24 aboard a chartered steamer on Lake Michigan, Ray Branch, regional vice-president, announced in a letter to members. Ship will leave Hastings, stopping along (Continued on Page 6) McConnell Contempt Plea Cites Lawyers Chicago — Attorney Thomas McConnell, counsel for the Jackson Park Theater, filed a petition in Federal Judge Michael Igoe's court here Friday asking that Paramount, RKO, Loew's, 20th-Fox, Warners, Warners Management Corp., B & K and Edward R. Johnston of Chicago and Louis Phillips of New York City, Paramount lawyers, and Otto Koegel (Continued on Page 3) Cripps' Close Friend Is Del Giudice's 'Angel' London (By Cable) — Veil of mystery that has shrouded the financial backer of Filippo Del Giudice, now in the U. S. to further his production plans via Pilgrim Pictures, was drawn aside at the week-end, disclosing him to be William Grimshaw Riley, wealthy Midland industrialist (Continued on Page 2) "Big Five" File Equity Briefs Relief Sought for Eight Points Philadelphia Allied Will Hear Myers on Jan. 27 Philadelphia — Allied Independent Theater Owners of Eastern Pennsylvania has set Jan. 27 for its annual luncheon meeting at which governors for the organization will be elected. Session will be held at the Broadwood Hotel. Principal speaker will be (Continued on Page 3) The "Big Five" exchanged briefs with the Government Friday in the industry anti-trust suit appeal which will be argued before the U. S. Supreme Court Feb. 9. The several briefs reiterated virtually all of the arguments which had been made previously before the District Court and in the original petitions for appeal. Loew's, 20th-Fox, RKO and Para(Continued on Page 6) Announcement by Abbott Follows Meetings Between Fitzgibbons and Officials Ottawa — Canada's Government will vacate the amusement tax field but will permit Provincial Governments to collect taxes on admissions, the Rt. Hon. D. C. Abbott, Minister of Finance, announced Friday, following conferences last week between J. J. Fitzgibbons, chairman of a central exhib. committee, and Government officials. Provinces under the new arrangement will be permitted to levy (Continued on Page 3) Skouras to England On Odeon-GB Merger Proposed merger of the GaumontBritish and Odeon circuits will be discussed with J. Arthur Rank by Spyros P. Skouras, 20th-Fox president; Murray Silverstone, president of 20th-Fox International, and Otto Koegel, general counsel, during their trip to England, Skouras announced prior to sailing aboard the Queen (Continued on Page 6) Taylor, Menjou, Etc., Pix Banned by Hungary Gov't Budapest (By Cable) — Ban, applying to films in which Robert Taylor, Gary Cooper, Adolphe Menjou, Allan Jones, George Murphy and Robert Montgomery appear, will go into effect in Hungary Thursday. Order came from the Ministry of the In(Continued on Page 6) Echman Scores Dual Reissue Bills London (By Air Mail) — Indiscriminate use of re-issues is "suicidal," Sam Eckman, Jr., M-G-M chief here, said in denouncing the policy of using two major re-issues on one program. Such ruthless use of existing films "must bring stark austerity in the foreseeable future," he asserted, claiming the renter is thus depleting his stock, while the exhibitor is taking the short view to gain immediate revenue.