Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1946)

« DIGEST 6/ -Weekly Review of the Trade's Events •I. J. I user, general sales manager of (Tnited Artists, who presided at the company's fourday international sales convention in New York last week, where he announced I A's most ambitious program ever set. William .1. Ileiiu niaii, former v.p. ami general sale, manager of the now del t United World, was named general sales manager of the .1. Arthur Kauk organization in the I '. s. The new <; ihlmaii Theatre, William Goldman's latest challenge to Warner chain's first-run <lc initiation in Philadelphia . which opened last n •■■ with the world premiere ol Paramount's "Monii< in Beaucaire." AUGUST 19, 1946 UA SCHEDULES 36 FOR 1946-47 United Artists will release 36 features and 59 short subjects during the 19,'6-47 season, a maximum total of releases in the company's history, it was revealed by Edward C. Raftery, UA president, and J. J. Unger, general sales manager, at the company's four-day international sales convention last week in New York. The product is budgeted at a record $50,000,000 and represents the offerings of 29 producers now under contract to the company. Eight Million for Advertising To ballyhoo United Artists' 1946-47 product, $8,000,000 will be spent on advertising, it was announced by Paul N. Lazarus, Jr., advertising and publicity director. Three million will be spent on advertising UA releases through the end of 1946 alone. Lazarus noted that despite the fact that there are 90,000,000 potential ticket buyers in the U. S., only about 18,000,000 see the average motion picture feature. It is with the purpose of doubling this average that the company is appropriating such an "unprecedented" amount for advertising, Lazarus said. Speaking before a convention audience which included top home office and foreign execu.ivas, district managers, branch managers and production represent;]!: Unger and Raftery described United Artists as a model for all companies making and selling motion pictures using a pattern established 27 i go by the company's founders "The entire film industry today is being remodelled after' the way United Artists was patterned and the way in which it has been functioning ever since." Unger. He noted the selling of pictures on an individual basis "is in today's law books as the on-y acceptable method of sales transaction within the American film industry." Top Executives Attend Among the other executives present were Grad Sears, vice-president in charge of distribution; Edward M. Schnitzer, Eastern sales manager; Maury Orr, Western sales manager; Harry D. Buckley, exchange operations; Tom Waller, publicity manager; Mori Krushen, exploitation manager; Howard LeSieur, ad manager, and district and branch managers. HEINEMAN HEADS RANK IN U. S. William J. Heineman, vice-president and general sales manager of United World, which was absorbed by the formation of the Universal International Production Co., was named general sales manager of the U. S. branch of the J. Arthur Rank organization. He was signed to a five-year contract under which he will have complete charge of sales and distribution of all Rank productions released through Universal. Heineman's duties will also include the supervision of the Prestige Pictures unit for roadshows to be handled by a separate department with physical distribution through Universal exchanges. Heineman's first appointment in his new post was Bernard G. Kranze who was signed to a term contract as assistant general sales manager. Kranze was recently Eastern Central district manager of RKO and resigned to join United World as Eastern division manager. "Show Window" Acquisitions Matthew Fox, executive vice-president of UI, announced further details of the company's plan to acquire approximately 30 "show window" in key cities, following his arrival from London where negotiations for the Univei sal-International-Rank merger were held. Fox declared that it may require at least a year before acquisition of theatres and that the company would first clear this issue with the Department of Justice and the statutory court which handed down the decision in the New York antitrust case. Acquisition of theatres by Universal would not necessarily come under the category of circuit expansion, since the company does not operate theatres at the present time. Cohn Named Overseas Theatres Head Ben Martin Cohn. veteran foreign and distribution executive, was named head of the overseas theatre department of Universal International and will be in charge of operations of UI theatres in foreign countries. It is understood that the Cohn's overseas theatre department will be separate from Rank's theatre holdings in foreign countries and from Universale proposed acquisition of American "show window" theatres. * * JOHNSTON TO ADDRESS ALLIED In his first appearance before a convention of a national exhibitor association, Eric A. Johnston, president of MPAA. will address Allied's national convention in Boston, Sept. 16-18 at the final day's banquet in the Copley Plaza's grand ballroom. Johnston's acceptance of Allied's invitation to address the conclave as guest speaker was announced by Leonard Goldberg, general chairman of the convention. Prior to the convention, Allied's board of directors will meet in Boston for a two-day confab to discuss a plan of action on the New York anti-trust suit and the decision handed down by the Statutory Court. * * * GOLDMAN OPENS NEW PHILLY FIRST-RUN William Goldman, the independent who has been giving Warner Bros, chain in Philadelphia a man-size scrap in the first-run situations, saw the first concrete results of his campaign to break the first-run monopoly when his brand-new Goldman Th. opened in down-town Philadelphia with the world premiere of Paramount " ieur Beaucaire", the Bob Hope starrer, on August 15. Goldman's deal with Paramount for exhibition oi "Beaucaire" was the first instance of an independent's successful booking of a major first-run Feature in Philly in almost 2C years. He had previously played a few first-run pictures in the Erlanger a converted legit house, but was stymied and brought an anti-trust suit against the WB (Continued on Page Ten) q