Harrison's Reports (1945)

28 HARRISON'S REPORTS February 17, 1945 "The effect of clearance upon the booking of pictures by subsequent-runs also was noted: 'The primary evil inherent in . . . any clearance is not that it suppresses competition for patronage but that it establishes a discriminatory sequence of exhibition which has no relation to the legitimate needs of the distributor or the public. What it does is simply to give the theatre enjoying the clearance booking control over the theatre against which it is held. The latter thus becomes entirely dependent upon the manner in which the former books pictures as they may not be made available in the second theatre until after they have been played in the first and this is true whether the clearance is one day or thirty days." Mr. Myers discloses that, although the brief does not contain a suggested form of order to be entered, it does outline the substance of the requested relief, which, in short, is as follows : 1. The distributors should be prohibited from imposing "any clearance between theatres not in substantial competition with each other." Note that no distinction is made between independent theatres, affiliated theatres and large independent circuits. 2. The distributors should be prohibited from granting "any clearance between theatres charging substantially the same admission prices." Here again the prohibition applies to all classes of theatres. 3. There should be a "prohibition of all clearance in excess of that reasonably related to the maintenance of competition between two or more competing theatres charging different admission prices." Mr. Myers then continues: " 'The distributor may, as he frequenlty does, deal with the refusing to abolish all clearance in many cases where there was only trifling competition or where admission prices were the same, apparently assumed that this would be 'an unwarranted interference with the distributor's right to license the competing exhibitors on such runs as he may deem necessary to exploit his films properly.' The brief then goes on to say that the elimination of clearance does not necessarily involve a transfer of the run from one exhibitor to the other and, in this connection, includes a dissertation on 'open' booking, which exhibitors sometimes call 'catch-as-catch-can' booking. "The distributor may, as he frequently docs, deal with the two theatres upon an open booking basis; that is to say, permit each to book the films licensed for exhibition to his theatre without regard to the time at which they are exhibited in the other. The mere mechanics of booking films for exhibition from eight to ten different distributors, all of whom serve numerous customers with each positive print, may seldom permit the playing of the same film simultaneously in the two theatres, but they may be served without discrimination by supplying prints as the prints and playing time in the theatres involved become available. Thus the pictures released by a particular distributor may alternately be made available first to one theatre and then to the other so that at the end of the season, although they have never played the same pictures simultaneously, neither theatre has been relegated to a fixed inferior position by the distributor in question. Thus all that the elimination of clearance in a particular situation does is to permit service of prints to the theatres involved upon a non-discriminatory basis, if the disrtibutor licenses them both. . . ". . . In a Government of law special indulgences cannot indefinitely be granted to a particular group, no matter how influential it may be. And regardless of what disposition Judge Goddard may make of the motion on March 5>, the motion and brief should accomplish three highly desirable ends: "1. The clear and frank disclosure of the fundamentals of the Government's suit should bring Judge Goddard to a realization of the seriousness of the proceeding. "2. Since notice of the motion was filed on counsel for all of the defendants, it will serve to bring the non-consenting defendants — Columbia, United Artists and Universal — back into the proceeding. "3. The motion, whether granted or denied, should result in setting the case for trial on the merits on a day certain." It is, of course, usually most difficult to obtain from a court temporary relief so extraordinary as the relief sought in this case. But whether the temporary relief should be granted or not, the Department of Justice has done a remarkable piece of work in behalf of free competition in the industry, and the independent exhibitor has been given a new hope for ultimate victory in the pending suit. "Crime, Incorporated" with Leo Carrillo, Tom Neal and Martha Tilton (PRC, April IT; time, 75 min.) The followers of gangster pictures should find this program melodrama to their liking. The story, which is based on an original by associate producer Martin Mooney and which in many ways parallels his own experiences as a crime reporter, revolves around the machinations of a crime syndicate headed by outwardly respectable business men, and around the efforts of the police to break up their "rackets." It has all the ingredients generally found in pictures of this type — suspense, cold-blooded killings, grand jury investigations, gang warfare and other similar activities. Although the ending is quite obvious, one's interest is held fairly well. There is a pleasant but unimportant romantic angle. The action takes place during the prohibition era: — Defying the crime syndicate's dictum to join up with them, Danny Morton, extortionist and leader of a small "mob," kidnaps Leo Carrillo, one of the syndicate'6 heads, and compels the organized crime ring to pay $100,000 for his release. Morton, concerned over the welfare of his young sister (Martha Tilton) in the event he met sudden death, asks Tom Neal, a crime reporter, to watch over her, offering to help him expose the secret leaders of the syndicate in return for his favor. Neal, who had been waging a one-man war against crime, accepts. Through Morton, Neal learns that Lionel Atwill, a celebrated criminal lawyer, was one of the secret leaders, and, through other information furnished by Morton, he writes a book titled, "Crime, Inc." Shortly after, the syndicate murders Morton. His killing precipitates a crusade against crime, and the -governor appoints a special grand jury to investigate. Neal's book is so sensational that he is hailed before the jury to reveal the source of his information. True to newspaper ethics, he refuses to reveal the source, but he joins a secret committee organized by the police commissioner (Harry Shannon) to break up the syndicate. Through information furnished him by Neal, the commissioner becomes aware of corruption within his own department and, through the use of dictaphones and camera traps, is enabled to arrest the syndicate's leaders when they assemble for one of their "board" meetings. The organized crime ring smashed, the jury thanks Neal for his cooperation and all the members act as witnesses to his marriage to Martha. Ray Shrock wrote the screen play, Leon Fromkess produced it, and Lew Landers directed it. The cast includes Sheldon Leonard, Grant Mitchell, George Meeker and others. "Her Lucky Night" with Andrews Sisters, Martha O'DriscolI and Noah Beery, Jr. (Universal, Feb. 9; time, 63 min.) Just a minor program comedy with music. The story is rather silly, but it manages to provoke a few laughs in certain situations. A good part of the comedy is slapstick, with one particularly ridiculous sequence taking place in a nightclub, where the hero's dress suit keeps coming apart as he cavorts about the place. Because of the story's silliness, there is no human interest. Its chief attraction is the harmony singing of the Andrew Sisters: — Despite the scoffing of the Andrew Sisters, her co-workers in a night-club, Martha O'DriscolI decides to visit a fortune teller to learn of her romantic future. When the fortune teller informs her that she will find her true love sitting next to her in a motion picture theatre, Martha buys two reserved tickets to a local movie and tosses one out of a window in the hope that it would be picked up by her future boy-friend. Martha becomes so disappointed when George Barbier, a grumpy but wealthy realtor, occupies the seat next to her that she starts a row with him. Barbier, learning the cause of her disappointment and impressed with her spurt, employs her to investigate Noah Beery, Jr., his nephew and sole heir; Barbier wanted to find out if he was a capable person. Beery, a shy, bungling young man, innocently gets himself into many predicaments, incurring Barbier's wrath. Martha, however, falls in love with him, and with the aid of the Andrew Sisters and of the fortune teller she manages to save Beery from disinheritance by his uncle. Clyde Bruckman wrote the screen play, Warren Wilson produced it, and Edward Lilley directed it. The cast includes Olin Howlin, Maurice Cass and others. Unobjectionable morally.