Harrison's Reports (1955)

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212 HARRISON'S REPORTS December 31, 1955 clubs, merchant free shows, schools, churches, charit' able organizations, etc.? Pending clarification of these points, exhibitors are cautioned to demand that RKO include in its license contracts the necessary guarantees. Such precaution should save you the embarrassment of booking a picture for which you will charge an admission price but which may possibly be seen on television or in a 16 mm. outlet free of charge, either while you are playing the picture or shortly after you have played it. * * * While on the subject of RKO, it is indeed gratifying to note that the company this week set specific release dates for 10 new features and 3 specially selected reissues during the first four months of 1956. The complete release schedule follows: Jan. 11. "Glory," a comedydrama in Superscope and Technicolor, starring Margaret O'Brien, Walter Brennan and Charlotte Greenwood. Jan. 18. "Postmark for Danger," a mystery melodrama, starring Terry Moore and Robert Beatty. Jan. 25. "Cash on Delivery," a comedy, starring Shelley Winters, Peggy Cummins and John Gregson. Feb. 8. "Slightly Scarlet," a romantic melodrama in Superscope and Technicolor, starring John Payne, Rhonda Fleming and Arlene Dahl. Feb. 15. "The Brain Machine," a suspense melodrama, starring Patrick Barr, Elizabeth Allan and Maxwell Reed. Feb. 22. Pre-release of "The Conqueror," a spectacle drama in CinemaScope and Technicolor, starring John Wayne, Susan Hayward and Pedro Armendariz. March 7. Re-release of David O. Selznick's "Rebecca," a suspense romance starring Sir Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Judith Anderson and George Sanders. March 14. "The Bold and the Brave," a romantic drama in Superscope, starring Wendell Corey, Mickey Rooney, Don Taylor and Nicole Maurey. March 21. Re-release of "One Minute to Zero," action drama starring Robert Mitchum and Ann Blyth. March 28. General release of "The Conqueror." April 4. "Great Day in the Morning," a Civil War drama in Superscope and Technicolor, starring Virginia Mayo, Robert Stack, Ruth Roman and Alex Nicol. April 11. "The Way Out," an action melodrama starring Mona Freeman and Gene Nelson. April 18. Re-release of "The Big Sky," an outdoor adventure melodrama starring Kirk Douglas, Dewey Martin and Elizabeth Threatt. April 25. "While the City Sleeps," a suspense melodrama starring Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, Ida Lupino, George Sanders, Thomas Mitchell, Sally Forrest and Vincent Price. This full and diversified release schedule for January through April should help considerably to alleviate the product shortage, and it is to be hoped that the company will maintain a flow of product in equal numbers in the months that follow. To do so, however, RKO will require strong exhibitor support. And the only support that counts is in the form of playdates! TAX CAMPAIGN OPPOSED This paper's opinion that there may be a serious lack of cooperation from a great many exhibitors who are of the opinion that a tax campaign at this time would not be propitious and would not have the slightest chance of success, is borne out by the following comments of Bob Wile, executive secretary of the Independent Theatre Owners of Ohio, who had this to say to his membership in his December 26 bulletin: "COMPO's decision to undertake a Federal tax campaign despite advice from every leader in Congress that the time is not propitious, can in our opinion lead only to failure. Its prime purpose, it would seem, is to perpetuate COMPO and keep its staff in existence despite the lack of something better to do. There are those who say, 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained,' but it must be remembered that we might do ourselves more harm than good by coming to Congress now, getting turned down and then coming again in 1957, when the time might be right but with Congress remembering that we had just been turned down and having the 'Here we go again' point of view. "Statements in the trade press indicate that it is COMPO 's feeling that a tax campaign at this time will 'not cost as much.' Obviously it will cost something and we can only say that no exhibitor should put money down a clogged drain. "If in 1957, it seems reasonable that we can get the tax removed, or perhaps have the exemption raised, even those exhibitors who are now charging only 50c and are therefore exempt would be willing to participate because it would allow them to raise prices. "Some of our members have reported to us that they have talked with their own Congressmen about this matter and have been advised that this year is NOT the time to seek relief. Whatever is done in the way of tax reduction this year will be with a view to getting votes. We live in a Democracy where public office holders only remain as long as they keep on getting votes. Next year is a general election year with the Presidency, the entire House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate at stake. Those who are running are going to apply tax relief where it will get the most votes. "One member of Congress in this state, Rep. Thomas Jenkins, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, has indicated that he thinks this is not the year. In the face of that, we would be foolish to try to obtain his vote. "The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sam Rayburn, comes from Bonham, Texas, home town of Col. Cole, who did more than any other individual to accomplish the tax reduction of 1954. He, too, has advised Col. Cole that 1956 is not the year but that perhaps in 1957, it might be accomplished." LEGION FAILS TO BACK THE CODE In spite of the fact that "The Man With the Golden Arm" was denied a Code seal by the Motion Picture Association, the Catholic Legion of Decency has given the picture a "B" rating, which means that it is morally objectionable in part for all. This is the first time that the Legion has failed to give a "C" or condemned rating to a picture that has been denied the seal. The picture, incidentally, is doing record-breaking business in its opening engagements in New York and Los Angeles.