Harrison's Reports (1946)

IN TWO SECTIONS— SECTION ONE 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) Harrison's Reports, Inc., U. S. Insular Possessions. -16.50 M v , N v Publisher Canada 16.50 Wew York zu' * P. S. HARRISON, Editor Mexico, Cuba, Spain 16.50 A Moti0n 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 Ug Editorial p0iicy: 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, FEBRUARY 23, 1946 No. 8 ALLIED'S ANNUAL BOARD MEETING Jack Kirsch, head of Allied of Illinois, was elected president of National Allied at the annual meeting of the Board of Directors, held in New York on February 11, 12 and 13. He succeeds Martin G. Smith, head of the Independent Theatre Owners of Ohio. Harry H. Lowenstein, head of Allied of New Jersey, was elected secretary, succeeding Roy E. Harrold of Indiana. The following officers were reelected : Abram F. Myers, general counsel and chairman of the board; Pete J. Wood, Ohio, recording secretary; and William J. Ainsworth, Wisconsin, treasurer. All the members of the executive committee were reelected. They are: Col. H. A. Cole, Sidney Samuelson, M. A. Rosenberg, Nathan Yamins, Smith, Kirsch, and Myers. A highlight of the meeting was the adoption and approval of a plan to eliminate theatre checking as now practiced. Details of the proposal are being withheld pending conferences with distributor representatives on the merits of the plan. It is understood, however, that the proposal calls for the elimination of checkers and the substitution of an auditing plan whereby an exhibitor's books will be audited by an accounting firm not affiliated with the distributors. Other acts of the board included the adoption of a resolution opposing any attempts to coerce exhibitors into participating in drives and taking up audience collections; the approval and adoption, as its own, of the resolution adopted recently by Allied of Eastern Pennsylvania and by the ITO of Ohio, opposing further acquisition of theatres by the affiliated circuits pending final determination of the New York anti-trust suit; the ratification of the stand taken by the OLE. A. opposing formation of a post-war Theatre Activities Committee; and the adoption of a resolution protesting against the alleged distributor practice of withholding approval of film licenses until a few days before play-dates so as to demand higher terms from the exhibitor. Other issues discussed at the meeting included the repeal of war tax rates on admissions; the attitude of the distributors as to what constitutes "competition" when they say that they will not license 16 mm. films in competition with established theatres; the recent developments in Television; film rentals; and the economic conditions and outlook in the several territories covered by the Allied regional units. If every independent exhibitor could observe the thoroughness with which the Allied Board discussed the different trade problems, and the steps they took to combat practices that are detrimental to the interests of independent exhibition, he would be convinced that very little goes on in this industry that escapes the attention of the alert Allied leaders. Their constructiveness, their tirelessness in battling against abuses that threaten the very existence of independent exhibition, entitle these leaders to the undivided support and thanks of every independent exhibitor in the country. A SENSIBLE DECISION Herbert Yates, Sr., president of Republic Pictures, is a sensible man. Whenever he makes any decisions, they are based on common sense, and are prompted by practical considerations. The January 31 issue of Daily Variety quotes him as having decided not to sell Republic pictures in foreign countries until the foreign distributors make payment for them in dollars, in New York. He feels that conditions are so unsettled in foreign countries that, without a guarantee that payment for the pictures will be forthcoming, the risk of losing the investment is too great. That Herbert Yates' decision is sensible may be evidenced by the recent incident in France. The American distributors had 500,000,000 francs in accumulated profits because the French Government forbade the export of exchange, and when the French Government devalued the franc by fifty per cent the American distributors lost onehalf of the money they had on deposit with the French banks. The trouble between the American picture industry and some of the European governments would be settled in no time if the American distributors told the recalcitrant government that no American pictures would be sent to that country until it played fair with American pictures and the income from those pictures. And without the import of pictures produced in the United States, exhibition in that country would be dealt a blow. Apropos with this discussion is another matter that should be given thought — that of rushing to Latin-American countries and building studios for the production of Spanishlanguage pictures. Aside from the fact that the local producers may resent the encroachment of their field by citizens of the United States, there is the danger of losing the studios with their valuable equipment by expropriation in the event some radical government comes into power. And losing such properties to rival producers will do the American industry no good. DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS, JR., TOLD THE TRUTH Speaking to members of the Hollywood Women's Press Club at a recent meeting, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., said that Hollywood is "in bad" with the rest of the world, because of the poor quality of the pictures it has been producing. According to the Hollywood Reporter of January 24, Brian Donlevy took issue with Mr. Fairbanks and said : "I get sick and tired of hearing people knock Hollywood and the motion picture industry simply because it seems to be the fashionable thing to do. If everyone else were as well aware of the world's problems as the film industry has proven itself to be, we would most certainly be living in a better world today. "I would like to remind Mr. Fairbanks that when the world was saying that Hitler was not to be feared, Hollywood was turning out pictures like 'Confessions of a Nasi Spy,' 'Mortal Storm' and other pictures that showed the scourge of Nazism and Fascism. . . ." The remainder of Mr. Donlevy's statement was in the same vein. If Mr. Donlevy had understood Mr. Fairbanks, he would not have made the unpardonable error of criticizing him for something he had not said. Mr. Fairbanks stated that Hollywood is discredited abroad because of the poor quality of pictures it has been producing. He did not intimate that Hollywood was not alive as to its responsibilities so far as awakening the world of the danger from Nazism as well as Fascism. Mr. Donlevy should have confined himself to disproving Mr. Fairbank's statement about the quality of pictures Hollywood has been producing. Recently I had the opportunity of discussing the same matter with a prominent managing director of a theatre situated in a large city, and what he said to me bears out Mr. Fairbanks. "Of the five million persons that have been released from the armed forces," my friend said, "nine out of ten of them are so sick of the Hollywood pictures that they don't want to see another as long as they live. That is what those I had come in contact with have told me. Never in the history of the picture industry has the quality sunk so low. And the producers had better look out, for the lush times arc about over."