Harrison's Reports (1946)

Entered as second-class matter January 4, 1921, at the post office at New York, New York, under the act of March 3, 1879. Harrison's Reports Yearly Subscription Rates: 1270 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS Published Weekly by United States $15.00 (Formerly Sixth Avenue) Harrisons Reports, Inc.. U. S. Insular Possessions. 16.50 V In 9A ML V Publisher Canada 16.50 Wew Iork zu» **■ p. S. HARRISON, Editor Mexico, Cuba, Spain 16.50 A Motion Picture Reviewing Service Great Britain 15.75 Devoted Chiefly to the Interests of the Exhibitors Established July 1, 1919 Australia, New Zealand, India, Europe, Asia .... 17.50 Jts Editorial policy: No Problem Too Big for Its Editorial Circle 7-4622 35c a Copy Columns, if It is to Benefit the Exhibitor. A REVIEWING SERVICE FREE FROM THE INFLUENCE OF FILM ADVERTISING Vol. XXVIII SATURDAY, JANUARY 19, 1946 No. 3 MORE ABOUT THE PROPOSED NEW NATIONAL EXHIBITOR ORGANIZATION Despite the conspicuous absence of genuine inde' pendent exhibitor support, the proponents of the new national exhibitor organization, which is to be known as the Theatre Activities Committee of the Motion Picture Industry, are determined that the new setup shall come into being. At a meeting in New York two weeks ago, the Interim Committee appointed to form the new association voted to hold the first convention in St. Louis early in April, at which time will be made a formal bid for national exhibitor support. Delegates to the convention will be selected by states. The meeting of the Interim Committee was closed to the press, but, according to a report in Motion Picture Herald, field meetings will be called by the exhibitor chairmen of the War Activities Committee in each exchange center for the selection of a delegate from each state. Where more than one exchange area is located in a state, one delegate shall be chosen for each such area. Each state, however, will have a delegate regardless of whether it has a film exchange. Meanwhile the Conference of Independent Exhibitor Associations, which is comprised of twenty-two independent exhibitor organizations, has steadfastly refrained from participating in the new association's formation. As it has already been stated in these columns, the proponents of the new organization are comprised mostly of men whose interests are either directly or indirectly connected with the theatre-owning producers, and what they propose to form would, in effect, be another Motion Picture Theatre Owners of America. Accordingly, one begins to wonder if there isn't a method in the determination of these proponents to form another organization. Can it be that this determination is in some way related to the major companies' plans for the future of MPTOA, the organization that is subsidized and controlled by them? The developments should be interesting. WILL THE PRODUCER-DISTRIBUTORS FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE SET BY THEIR LEADER? Among the principal features of the new tax law that went into effect on January 1 are the elimination of the 85]/2 per cent excess profits tax on corporations, and the provision that taxable income for corpora tions with net profits exceeding $50,000 becomes subject to tax at rates not exceeding 38 per cent. It is estimated that these reductions, as well as others included in the law, will reduce by $3,136,000,000 the amount of Federal taxes to be paid to the Treasury by business firms. Recently, Eric A. Johnston, president of the Motion Picture Association (formerly the MPPDA), who owns a number of electrical equipment manufacturing plants in the State of Washington, an* nounced a plan whereby the employees of his companies would share in 25 per cent of the net profits before taxes. Terming this move as his solution of the problem of "industrial democracy," Mr. Johnston said: "We have political democracy and so we must have democracy for industry to make workers feel that they are a part of management and that they have a voice in what is going on." Since the motion picture industry, particularly the producer-distributors who are members of the association that Mr. Johnston heads, will benefit greatly by the aforementioned tax reductions, one is prompted to ask if Mr. Johnston might not try to imbue his member companies with his commendable philosophy of live-and-let-live. The tremendous increased profits that will undoubtedly accrue to the producer-distributors as a result of the new tax reductions will place them in a position where they could readily afford to share their good fortune with their customers, the exhibitors, through the medium of sorely needed reductions in film rentals. The lowering of film rentals would indeed be a form of profit-sharing, and it would go far in bringing to the motion picture industry the sort of democracy that Mr. Johnston speaks about. Mr. Johnston has set the example in the electrical equipment field. Will the producer-distributors follow this example in the motion picture field? ONLY GOOD PICTURES WILL DO BUSINESS "Hitting a new boxoffice high in the first five weeks of its playing time," declares an RKO publicity release, " 'The Bells of St. Mary's' . . . promises to outgross any other picture ever produced. This amazing record is proof that the expected post-war attendance slump will not take place as long as the public can buy top-notch fi^m entertainment, in the opinion of Ned Depinet, RKO Radio president." If the phenomenal business done by this picture is to serve as proof that no post-war attendance slump (Continued on last page)