Harrison's Reports (1949)

64 HARRISON'S REPORTS April 16, 1949 sonally. In addition he pointed to the unfavorable publicity received as a result of the arbitrary attitude of the Majors. Master in Chancery, Joseph Elward of the U. S. District Court in Chicago, said in his final report the following in part: "Paragraph 11: (a) Plaintiffs, as hereinabove noted, have given, as motivation for their motion to dismiss, their apprehension that they may not be able to prove that the matter involved exceeds THREE THOUSAND ($3,000.00) DOLLARS. "(b) Without in any manner impugning the good faith of Plaintiff's counsel (who are eminent members of the Bar, but are, of course, under the direction of their clients) I think it is a fair inference from the record, that this alleged reason was not the only reason or the principal reason for their clients' decision to dismiss. "(c) For some other reason, not apparent of record and with which the court has no concern — Plaintiffs wish to withdraw from the present forum. This is their right, but they must in equity make defendants whole for the Plaintiffs' experiment. The record shows that Defendants' counsel have spent considerable time and effort to date in pleadings, motions, briefs and arguments in resisting Plaintiffs' claims. For the attorney's fees paid or incurred, the court has an equitable discretion, under the rule, to provide reimbursement." "Paragraph 12: I am of the opinion that under the discretion vested in the court in this matter, it would be inequitable to allow the cause to be dismissed without prejudice against the defendants, Mr. McConnell's clients, without reimbursing them for the sums they have paid to him for attorney's fees and that any order of dismissal against said clients should be contingent upon the payment to them of the aforesaid sum of $4,016.88 so paid Mr. McConnell for his attorney's fees and expenses." "Paragraph 14: (d) I find that the sum of $1,500.00 would be a reasonable attorney's fee for the services rendered herein by Mr. Simon; that his clients are liable to him therefor and that they should be compensated accordingly." "Paragraph 15: It is my conclusion that an order should be entered (subtantially in words and figures as per the draft attached hereto, marked Exhibit 'A' and expressly made a part hereof) providing for the dismissal without prejudice, but conditional upon the payment by Plaintiffs to THOMAS C. McCONNELL, as Attorney for certain defendants, within 25 days from this date, the sum of $4,016.88; and to Seymour Simon, as attorney for certain defendant, within 25 days from this date, the sum of $1,500.00; and to the undersigned, within 25 days from this date of the sum of $1,682.60 (or such other sum as to the court may seem proper) for his Master's Fees and Court Reporter charges as per certificate attached hereto." Alger feels that a principle has been established in this case and that it is that no exhibitor should be frightened by the matter of threats from the film companies into an audit that is neither necessary nor proper. He feels that the story deserves full publication in spite of the suppression attempted by certain distributor controlled publications and desires that you give the matter a complete airing in your publication. Yours truly, (signed) L. Frank Stewart Executive Manager BOX-OFFICE PERFORMANCES The previous box-office performances were published in the issues of October 30 and November 6, 1948. Columbia ' "The Untamed Breed" : Fair "The Loves of Carmen": Good-Fair "I Surrender Dear": Fair-Poor "Rusty Leads the Way" : Fair-Poor "The Gallant Blade": Fair "Leather Gloves": Fair "Racing Luck": Fair-Poor "The Man from Colorado": Good "Jungle Jim": Fair "Blondie's Secret": Fair "Shockproof" : Fair "The Dark Past" : Good-Fair "Song of India": Fair "Slightly French": Fair "The Affairs of a Rogue": Poor "Ladies of the Chorus": Fair-Poor "The Walking Hills" : Good-Fair Seventeen pictures have been checked with the following results: Good, 1; Good-Fair, 3; Fair, 8; Fair-Poor, 4; Poor, 1. Eagle-Lion "Northwest Stampede" : Fair "Behind Locked Doors": Fair "Hollow Triumph" ("The Scar") : Fair-Poor "My Son, My Son" (reissue) : Fair-Poor "International Lady" (reissue) : Fair-Poor "Adventures of Gallant Bess": Fair "Count of Monte Cristo" (reissue): Fair "Son of Monte Cristo" (reissue) : Fair "Let's Live a Little" : Fair "Million Dollar Weekend": Fair "He Walked By Night": Good "Parole, Inc." : Fair "The Strange Mrs. Crane": Fair "An Old Fashioned Girl": Fair-Poor "Blanche Fury": FairPoor Fifteen pictures have been checked with the following results: Good, 1; Fair, 9; Fair-Poor, 5. Metro-Gold wyn-Mayer "Julia Misbehaves" : Good "The Secret Land": Fair "No Minor Vices" : Fair "The Three Musketeers": Very Good "Hills of Home" : Fair "Words and Music": Very Good -Good "A Night at the Opera" (reissue): Good "San Francisco" (reissue) : Good-Fair "Three Godfathers": Good-Fair "Picadilly Incident": Fair-Poor "Command Decision": Very Good-Good "Act of Violence": Fair "The Sun Comes Up" : Fair "The Bribe": Good-Fair "Force of Evil" : Fair "Caught": Fair Sixteen pictures have been checked with the following results: Very Good, 1; Very Good-Good, 2; Good, 2; Good-Fair, 3; Fair, 7; Fair-Poor, L Paramount "Isn't It Romantic" : Fair-Poor "The Night Has 1000 Eyes": Fair "Sealed Verdict": Fair "Miss Tatlock's Millions" : Good-Fair "Disaster" : Fair-Poor "The Paleface": ExcellentVery Good "The Accused" : Good-Fair "Dynamite": Fair-Poor "My Own True Love": Fair-Poor "Whispering Smith": Good "Alias Nick Beal": Fair Eleven pictures have been checked with the following results: ExcellentVery Good, 1; Good, 1; Good-Fair, 2; Fair, 3; Fair-Poor, 4. 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