The Film Daily (1948)

IXlionday, July 26, 1948 IDE' DAILY ). of J.'s Settlement ifforts Stepped Up J..J, (Continued from Page 1) ] e, jirs in an effort to work out diff er i[arv;nces does not seem to have in fin -^ xher more complaints will be ;[i|efeiied to the Department now that i mirbitration has been ruled out as a jjlubstitute for contempt proceedings jjt^j not certain. The Department of l2j,j(Ustice has put AAA and the distribQjjtors on record June 25 that the auhority to use arbitration under the , lonsent decree is a thing of the past. Jjj. Arbitration was ruled out in the ; Hew York judgment of 1946 and that "juji.uling was sustained by the High lalJourt in May, a Government spokes\.i\an said Friday. Execution of the -■' an has been stayed pending the appeal— but when the Court ruled June 15 that ended the stay, the Govern I lent holds. -^j At the same time it was pointed n[i ut that there is nothing to stop xhibitors and distributors from .putting disputes to arbitration vol' ntarily. ateb: Vletro Gives Branches light to Cut Trailers (Continued from Page 1) ions of the trailers where such exision would be beneficial. ■s\i Company policy in this regard f/as revealed recently by Henderson il. Richey, exhibitor relations direciDJior, in a letter to the ATO of Indi,na protesting an inference made in he organization's monthly bulletin hat M^G-M had discontinued action railers for economy reasons. Ric'hey pointed out, and major lortions of his reply are reprinted n the cuiTent ATOI bulletin, that irffhe action type trailer was discon rt-inued in October, 1946, "long before !yi'he much heralded economy cam rijiaign. Interviewing of customers," oBflichey continued, "disclosed that a ills'ery small minority wanted the horter trailer and these only be (K ause they occupied less screen time, iB$ >ut all wanted as much action in the i[irailers as possible." Richey said that eliminations from railers were made by branch manef'igers with home office approval. 0 0 WuU Prods.-AFM Pact Parley West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY • Hollywood — No comment was availible on whether the producers will igree to AFM's request for pact ;alks in New York starting Aug. 9. UlEDDinG BELLS Doolittle-Steinberg Herb Steinberg, Eagle Lion newsDaper and column contact, was married to Caroline Doolittle, of Hous;on, Tex., Sunday, in the Hampshire House. Couple are on a two-week .loneymoon. What Next in Britain? . . . the pattern was cut in 194S-47 (Continued on Page 6) tlon by hog-tying studio facilities. That canard quickly fell of its own weight; the facts disproved it. It is crystal clear that if British independent producers are to fill the screen-time gap, studio facilities must be available. The Government, indeed, put the cart before the horse, so to speak, in that before announcing its financing scheme, it had on July 9 named a special committee of three — Sir George H. Gater, S. C. Roberts and Dr. R. S. Edwards — to consider whether or not to hold for British indie producers either Government-owned or centrally-owned studio space. That committee, already at work, probably will complete its report in late August. Make of it what you will, the committee will visit M-G-M's British Elstree Studios on Aug. 6. The Metro studios admittedly are the best in Britain, measuring up to the Hollywood level. Bearing that In mind, you might ask yourself. What next in Britain? And that ends the sermonette for today. Other intriguing aspects of the latest British move will be treated in a later critique. Selznkk Test Stage Series for Television (Continued from Page 1) "Selznick Test Stage" series, and will present young players regarded by Selznick as comers. Four sponsors are understood to have submitted deals. Selznick reps, for some time have been reported diligently scouring the talent f!eld in both the East and tJie West, and the producer is understood to have plans for the production of a half dozen or more video programs. It was confirmed at the week-end that Selznick at the time he acquired screen rights to "The Greatest Show on Earth" from Ringling Bros.Barnum & Bailey Circus also obtained tele rights to the circus for a period of years. Trinity Seeks $2,175,000 Damages from Selznick M^est Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — Charging violation of a contract covering the production of "If This Be My Harvest." Trinity Pictures Corn., headed by William A. Bacher, filed a $2,175,000 damage action in Superior Court against David 0. Selznick, Vanguard and others. Dispute is over three Selznick players, Valli, Louis Jourdan and Robert Mitchum, who failed to report on the scheduled starting date. Selznick issued a statement claiming the deal had not been completed and the players were withheld because Bacher failed to revise his script to confirm with Selznick's requirements. Second Rate Cut Ends Threat of Co-op. Carrier (Continued from Page 1) Allied unit, announced that plans for the formation of a cooperative film delivery service have been abandoned. The new rates, which will become effective Aug. 1, will save exhibitors in this territory $40,000 a year, Sullivan said. Kansas-Missouri Allied had protested the revised schedule which went into effect May 15. Talk Settlements of Two Chicago Actions Chicago — A settlement of the demand of the Liberty Theater, Michigan City, Ind., for first run product, under which 20th-Fox initial runs would be divided between the Liberty and Manta Rose houses there, is reported to have been approved by William C. Gehring, assistant general sales manager. Seymour Simon, attorney for the Liberty, is taking depositions in connection with the theater's anti-trust suit. Jack Rose of Manta Rose, testified last week regarding the run situation in Michigan City. Another trust suit, the Rockne and Rivoli action, may be adjusted before trial. Root and Marzal, in cooperation with Aaron Stein, who handled the Schoenstadt Theater agreement, are negotiating an out-of-court settlement for Saul Meltzner. Latter, it is reported, would receive improved clearance and attorney fees. Rathvon Resigns Position As RKO President (Continued from Page 1) be glad to sei-ve as president for a reasonable period of time." There was immediate speculation as to whom would succeed Rathvon with the name of Ned E. Depinet, now executive vee-pee of the company, brougiht forward prominently. Indicative of the firm hand Hughes has on the company was the fact that announcement of Rathvon's resignation at the meeting here was made Friday in Hollywood rather than in New York. RKO Appealing Jackson Pk. Ruling Against Palace Chicago — Attorney Myles Seeley will file appeal today in Federal Court, against Judre Michael Igoe's decision in the RKO Palace Theater case, which he ruled was subject to Jackson Park decree. Defense will contend Palace Theater is owned and operated by a company not included within provision of decree. Case will come before seventh District Appeal Court this Fall. OVER 21,000 TITLES OF PICTURES PRODUCED SINCE 1915 IS ONE OF THE MANY FEATURES IN THE 1948 FILM DAILY YEAR BOOK OF MOTION PICTURES 30th Edition Jusl off the press and covering everything is now being distributed complimentary to all Subscribers of THE FILM DAILY 1501 BVay, New York 18, N. Y.