Year book of motion pictures (1951)

FINAL DECREE AS TO MAJOR DEFENDANTS Tlie plaintiff, having filed its petition herein on July 39, 1938, and its amended and supplemental complaint on November 14, 1940; the defendants having filed their answers to such complaint, denying the substantive allegations thereof; the court after trial having entered a decree herein, dated December 31, 1946, as modified by order entered February 11, 1947; the plaintiff and the defendants having appealed from such decree; the Supreme Court of the United States having in part affirmed and in part reversed such decree, and having remanded this case to this court for further proceedings in conformity with its opinion dated May 3, 1948; this court having, on June 26, 1948, by order made the mandate and decree of the Supreme Court the order and judgment of this court; a consent decree having been entered on November 8, 1948, against the defendants Radio-Keith-Orpheum Corporation: RKO Radio Pictures. Inc.; RKO Proctor Corporation; RKO Midwest Corporation; and Keith-Albee-Orpheum Corporation; orders having been entered on stipulation against the Fox, Loew, and Warner defendants respectively, and Loew having further stipulated in the record, with respect to certain theatre interests held jointly with orders; and a consent judgment having been entered on March 3, 1949 against defendants Paramount Pictures. Inc. and Paramount Film Distributing Corporation; and an order having been entered on April 21, 1949, severing and terminating, as of March 3, 1949. this action as against defendants Paramount Pictures. Inc. and Paramount Film Distributing Corporation; and an order having been entered on January 18, 1960 severing and terminating as of November 8, 1948 the action as against defendants Radio-Keith-Orpheum Corporation, RKO Radio Pictures, Inc., RKO Proctor Corporation, RKO Midwest Corporation nand Keith-Albee-Orpheum Corporation. Now, having considered the proposals of the parties, having duly received additional evidence and heard further arguments after entry of the consent decree against the RKO defendants, and having rendered its opinion on July 26, 1949, and having filed its findings of fact and conclusions of law in accordance with said opinion: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED. AND DECREED that the decree heretofore entered by this court on December 31. 1946 is hereby amended to read as follow: I 1. The findings of fact and conclusions of law heretofore made are superseded by the findings and conclusions now entered in support of this decree. 2. The complaint is dismissed as to all claims made against the defendants herein based upon their acts as producers, whether as individuals or in conjunction with others. II Each of the defendant distributors, Loew's, Incorporated; Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.; Warner Bros. Pictures Distributing Corporation (formerly known as Vitagraph, Inc.) ; Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, and the successors of each of them (including but not limited to companies resulting from divorcement), and any and all individuals who act in behalf of any thereof with respect to the matters enjoined, and each corporation in which said defendants or any of them own a direct or indirect stock interest of more than fifty per cent, is hereby enjoined: 1. Prom granting any license in which minimum prices for admission to a theatre are fixed by the parties, either in writing or through a committee, or through arbitration, or upon the happening of any event or in any manner or by any means. 2. From agreeing with each other or with any exhibitor or distributors to maintain a system of clearances: the term "clearances" as used herein meaning the period of time stipulated in license contracts which must elapse between runs of the same feature within a particular area or in specified theatres. 3. From granting any clearance between theatres not in substantial competition. 4. From granting or enforcing any clearance against theatres in substantial competition with the theatre receiving the license for exhibition in excess of what is reasonably necessary to protect the licensee in the run granted. Whenever any clearance provision is attacked as not legal under the provisions of this decree, the burden shall be upon the distributor to sustain the legality thereof. 5. From further performmg any existing franchise to which it is a party and from making any franchises in the future, except for the purpose of enabling an independent exhibitor to operate a theatre in competition with a theatre affiliated with a defendant or with theatres in new circuits which may be formed as a result of divorcement. The term "franchise" as used herein means a licening agreement or series of licensing agreements, entered into as a part of the same transaction, in effect for more than one motion picture season and covering the exhibition of pictures released by one distributor during the entire period of agreement. 6. Prom making or further performing £iny formula deal or master agreement to which it is a party. The term "formula deal" as used herein means a licensing agreement with a circuit of theatres in which the license fee of a given feature is measured for the theatres covered by the agreement by a specified percentage of the feature's national gross. The term "master agreement' means a licensing agreement, also known as a "blanket deal," covering the exhibition of features in a number of theatres usually comprising a circuit. 7. From performing or entering into any license in which the right to exhibit one featiire is conditioned upon the licensee's taking one or more other features. To the extent that any of the features have not been trade shown prior to the granting of the license for more than a single feature, the licensee shall be given by the Ucensor the right to reject twenty per cent of such featurea not trade shown prior to the granting of the license, such right of rejection to be exercised in the order of release within ten days after there has been an opportunity afforded to the licensee to inspect the feature. 8. Prom licensing any feature for exhibition upon any run in any theatre in any other manner than that each license shall be offered and taken theatre by theatre, solely upon the merits and without discrimination in favor of affiliated theatres, circuit theatres or others. Ill Each of the defendant exhibitors. I/oew'§. Incorporated; Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.; Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corporation; Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation; and National Theatres Corporation; and the successors of each of them (including but not limited to companies resulting from divorcement), and any and all individuals who act in behalf of any thereof with respect to the matters enjoined, and each corporation in which said defendants or any of them own a direct or indirect stock interest of more than fifty per cent, is hereby enjoined and restrained: 1. From performing or enforcing agreements, it any, referred to in Paragraphs 5 and 6 of the foregoing Section II hereof to which it may be a party. 2. From making or continuing to perform pooling agreements whereby given theatres of two or more exhibitors normally in competition are operated as a unit or whereby the business policies of such exhibitors are collectively determined by a joint committee or by one of the exhibitors or whereby profits of the "pooled" theatres are divided among the owners according to prearranged percentages. 3. From making or continuing to perform agreements that the parties may not acquire other theatres in a competitive area where a pool operates without first offering them for inclusion in the pool. 4. From making or continuing leases of theatres under which it leases any of its theatres to another 920