Harrison's Reports (1957)

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 SIXTH AVENUE Published Weekly by _ . , nft Harrison's Reports, Inc., United States $15.00 New York 20, N. Y. Publisher U. S. Insular Possessions. 16.50 Z-~~a0 ifisn a n jt * j t*>* i t> a P. S. HARRISON, Editor Canada 16.50 a Motion Picture Reviewing Service AL PICOULT Mexico, Cuba, Spain 16.50 Devoted Chiefly to the Interests of the Exhibitors Managing Editor Great Britain 17.50 Australia, New Zealand, Established July 1, 1919 India, Europe, Asia 17.50 its Editorial Policy: No Problem Too Big for Its Editorial 35c a Copy Columns, if It is to Benefit the Exhibitor. Circle 7-4622 A REVIEWING SERVICE FREE FROM THE INFLUENCE OF FILM ADVERTISING Vol. XXXIX SATURDAY, MAY 18, 1957 No. 20 THE ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION CONFERENCE A new effort to develop and establish a concilia' tion and arbitration system for the motion picture industry was instituted this week at a three-day meeting held in New York on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and attended by representatives of the Theatre Owners of America, Allied States Association, Independent Theatre Owners Association and the Motion Picture Association of America. Since the conference was closed to the press, the only information available is that contained in of' ficial reports handed out to the press after each day's meeting. According to these reports, the conference will be reconvened again in New York on Monday, June 17 to continue a thorough discussion of the issues involved. Meanwhile, unanimous agreement was reached in principle on all phases of conciliation, and a drafting committee, composed of counsel from TOA, National Allied and the MPA, was directed to complete a draft of the conciliation program during the recess of the negotiations. The draft, on completion, will be submitted to each of the participating organizations for approval. TOA has designated Herman Levy as its member of the drafting committee, and the distributors have named Adolph Schimel. The member from National Allied will be chosen shortly. As to arbitration, the official reports merely state that the conference studied specific subjects considered to be arbitrable, particularly in relation to clearance and runs, and agreed to explore a number of possibilities relating to the organization and financing of an arbitration system that would prove practical under present day conditions. The conference also designated a committee to study arbitration machinery. This committee includes Schimel for the distributors; Joseph Alterman of TOA; and Wilbur Snaper of National Allied. At the opening session on Monday, Eric Johnston, president of the MPA, Ernest G. Stellings, president of TOA, Julius M. Gordon, president of National Allied, and Max A. Cohen, representing the ITOA, made statements in which each, in effect, expressed a sincere desire on behalf of their respective organizations to establish a system of arbitration and conciliation for the industry. In addition to those already mentioned, others in attendance included : TOA — Mitchell Wolfson, Si Fabian, Al Pickus and George Kerasotes; National Allied — Abram F. Myers and Nathan Yamins; Distributors Negotiating Committee — Abe Montague, Charles M. Reagan, Robert J. Rubin and George Weltner. A three-man committee appointed by the Metro' politan Motion Picture Theatres Association to act as "observers" did not attend the conference, and no explanation has been made relative to their absence. The Southern California Theatre Owners Association, which participated in the last two arbitration conferences, declined an invitation to participate in this one. In a letter sent to Abe Montague, chairman of the Distributors Negotiating Committee, Harry C. Arthur, SCTOA board chairman, had this to say: "Regarding the meeting called for May 13, 1957, for the purpose of exploring the possibility of arriving at an arbitration plan for the industry, it was decided by the board of directors of our association today (May 6) that it would be futile to work out an arbitration system that did not embrace all complaints that might be registered by both the distributor and/or exhibitor. "While we are fully cognizant of the many difficulties surrounding the actual arbitration of film rentals we, however, feel that nothing constructive will be gained unless trade practices and sales policies are included in the discussion pertaining to any arbitration system for the industry." In a further comment on the matter, Arthur is quoted by Motion Picture Daily as stating: "Any arbitration and conciliation plan which the MPAA works out with TOA, Allied and other participating exhibitor organizations will be watered down and worthless since trade practices and sales policies are excluded. Such an arbitration plan will serve no purpose. It purports to give exhibitors a sense of security which we won't have at all." Harry Arthur's pessimism as to the worth of any arbitration plan that may be worked out by the current conference is understandable, for the reults of the last two conferences, in which he devoted considerable time and effort, left much to be desired insofar as exhibition is concerned. Because of conditions that now exist in the industry, need for a proper system of arbitration and conciliation is more urgent than ever, and this time the exhibitor leaders have entered the negotiations with a new spirit of cooperation. The former belligerency has been replaced by temperate, sincere and statesmanlike attitudes, making for an approach that has long been advocated by many distributor officials as a means of bringing about more harmonious intra industry relations. Whether or not this new spirit of cooperation will result in an arbitration and conciliation system that will be workable and desirable remains to be seen. But if such a system should come about, this paper feels confident that Harry Arthur and his responsible organization will be quick to embrace it.