Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1948)

Bieuys and Opinuan Lawyers Happy Hunting Grounds— The Film Industry Long the lawyers' happy hunting grounds, the movie industry becomes merrier by the minute for the legal profession as the welter of anti-trust suits continues to pile up in the wake of the indecisive decisions by the X. V. Statutory Court and the U. S. Supreme Court. Triple damages which may cost the distributors another ,S1.611,000 were asked in two actions filed in Chicago and Los .\ngeles U. S. District Courts. Plaintiff in the former, Towne Theatre. Milwaukee, not only requested SI, 050,000 treble damages, but asked the court to order divestiture of theatres owned by 20th Century-Fox and Warner Bros, in the Milwaukee area. It was charged that the Milwaukee system of booking and clearance have deprived the Towne of profitable product since May 1, 1046, when the present management took over. The Big Five and Columbia were named as defendants. The Towne suit marks the se:o::c; request for divestiture in a private action in recent weeks. Earlier. William Goldman, Philadelphia circuit operator, who had already been awarded triple damages, filed another action based on the monopaly findings of the U. S. District Court, requesting' divestiture of Warners' chain in Philly. Counsel for the Towne, Thomas McConne'l, hero of the Jackson Park action which overturned the Chicauo clearance system, told the court that the alleged conspiracy to control product and run dominated all the independent theatres in the area, with preference shown affiliated circuits in feature selection, rentals, and clearance. In the L. A. action, the eight majors and Republic, as well as four circuits, were named in a suit brousht by Ivan C. Hanson, owner of the Atlantic Theatre in Loni Beach, charging violation of the Sherman laws and asking trebled damages of .n561,OO0 and injunctive relief. Here again, clearance was the gimmick of the alleged conspiracy "to maintain an arbitrary and unreasonable clearance schedule." permitting Fox We t Coast and Cabart Theatres to enjoy a first-run monopoly, as well as preferential treatment in favor of the large chains. In another anti-trust action, pending' since 10|4. the U. S. Circuit Court in Philadelphia reversed a Pittsburgh District Court decision airainst independent Henry Xorman Ball, Penn Theatre, Ambrid'ze, Pa., and ordered the lower court to establish the amount of triple dama"es to be assessed against 20th-Fox, Loew's, RKO, Paramount and Pennware Theatre Corp., a Paramount partner, defendants. Ball filed the suit after Paramount switched first-run product from the Penn, followin-r the plaintiff's purchase of the house from Pennware to the State Theatre, newly built by the Paramount affiliate. Ball's charge that the Penn was entitled to the run, regardless of owner, was denied by the District Court. The Court also upheld Paramount's and Pennware's right to build a theatre in competition with the Penn and held that a new and larger theatre such as the State was entitled to first-run |)roduct, particularly in the hands of an established oixrrator. He also ruled no conspiracy among the defendants in withholding first-run product from the Penn. The Circuit Court, in a 2-1 decision, disagreed with the no-conspiracy finding, ordered the lower court to set damages and maintained Ball's right to first-run product. D. W. Griffith: Pioneered The Feature-Lengtli Film The chief obstetrician at the birth of the feature-length motion picture is gone. David Wark Griffith, pioneer movie-maker who was responsible for many milestones in the mo vies' comlng-of-age, succumbed to a cerebral hemorrhage at age 7,^ on Friday, July 23rd in a Hollywood hospital. Stricken in his hotel suite Wednesday evening, he was removed to the hospital Thursday, lost consciousness and died the following morning. H s r.Tost f imous achievement was "The Birth of a Nation." made at a cost of .•^06,000 in 1914 and, by rc:e;t e:timate, a S4S,0OD,CO0 grosser. He v.as responsible for several of the basic ingredients cf modern movie-making such as the close-up. llash-back and fadeout. H's feats as a star-r.ia' e inc.u''.ed discovery of Mary Pickford, James Kirkwood, the Gich sisters, Lionel Barrymore, Douglas Fairbanks, Richard Barthelmess and many others. Born in La Grange, Ky., Griffith became a stock actor and wTiter, joining Edison and Biograph in 1Q07 as a combination player, director and writer at SS a day. His genius helped transform films from one-reel "flickers" into the great entertainment and social medium they have become. With Mary Pickford. Douglas Fairbanks and Charles Chaplin, he founded Un'ted Artists and remained as a principal stockholder until 1933, when he sold his interest. He had lived in retirement in recent years. SPYROS P. SKOURAS linlcrtaiiniu'iil on 'Global ^^ciilr . . . ItiMon Plans 'Global' ^roduciion of 30 Films One American film company, at least, does not intend to allow its production plans to be stymied by unsettled world conditions. This was made clear by president Spyros P. Skouras, of iOth Century-Fox, when he announced his company's intention to "deliver motion picture entertainment on a global scale uni)recedented in film history." The international flavor of Sk')uras' statement v. as accented by the h cale of the 2Uth-Fox convention — Torcmto — where he and Andy \\ . Smith, Jr., general sales manager, unveiled the company's 1948-49 schedule of 30 designated pictures, while ad chief Charles Schlaifer outlined the advertising, imblicity and exploitation pro.gram. The ,'^a.son's product, to be made under the supervision of executive production head Joseph M. Schenck and Darryl F. Zanuck, vice-president ill charge of productiim (currently in Europe .setting up shooting plans) will be in contrast to the 24 features made by 20th-Fox this past season. Xo mention was made of the total cost of the 3()-picture output, but earlier this year it was announced that the coinpnay was cutting production costs approximately one third. 75 percent of the new program will be completed by the end of August. SEEKS -FLUIDITY' The "global" production policy, Skouras declared, is designed to "strengthen the company's position by affording fluidity of production tliroughout the world and takes advantage of the international situation with respect to blocked funds in foreign countries." He also declared that Fox's stress on "the realistic type of pictures," using actual locales wherever possible, would tie in neatly with the worldwide production plans. Five films are to be made overseas, although only three were included in the 3U listed ; 'The Prince of Foxes," currently shooting in Italy ; "The Affairs of Adelaide," now in production in England, and "I Was a Male War Bride," starring Cary Grant, to be made in Germany, France and England. "The Black Rose" and "Lydia Bailey" will both be made in England, Skouras said, but their release was not yet scheduled. Of the thirty, five are completed and delivered, seven have finished shooting and are editing and one special, "The Snake Pit," is completed and awaiting a special series of pre-release engagements this year. In addition to the two in production overseas, four are currently before t!-,e cameras, and two more will begin shooting before the Fall. At least 20 per cent of the program will be in Technicolor. COMPLETED PRODUCT Included among the new product already cmipleted are "That Lady in Ermine," (Betty Grable-Dcuglas Fairbanks, Jr.): "Forever AmI^er" in its regular engagement ; "The Luck of the Irish" (Tvrone Power-Anne Baxter); • W hen My Baby Smiles at Me," (Betty GrableDan Dailey) in Technicolor, from the Broadway success, "Burlesque": Preston Sturges" "Lnfaithfully Yours"; "That Wonderful Urge'' (Tyrone Power-Gene Tiernev); "Road House" (Cornel Wilde-Ida Lupino-Richard WidmarkCeleste Holm): "Yellow Sky" (Gregory PeckAnne Baxter-Richard ^^'idmark). .•\s to the company's programmer output, reitiier Skouras, nor sales chief Andy Smith, Ji., revealed what will comprise the progratii, or even whether there would be any (see Studio Size-ups, this issue). According to present plans, however, there will be seven from the Sol \\'urtzel unit, two from Frank Seltzer, at least one from Alexander Korda, one from Marcel Hellman, two from Sam Baerwitz and three from E.dward Small. Reports that 20thFox might drt)p inde low-budget product from its roster led Small to declare that should the company fail to pick up his option, he would seek another distributor. Tire-Guard' Memre licked by PhiSly Exhibs Militant, united action by Philadelphia theatre owners waylaid attempts by the City Council to foist a "fire-guard" on the city's theatres. The ordinance "which would have required theat e operators to employ special fire-guards was thwarted when City Council's public safety c mmittee voted to postpone indefinitely action (.11 the proposal, Morris Wax, president of the Phila. Theatre Ass'n., spoke against the measure, asserting that movie houses were adequately protected against fire hazards. In response to a request by Council, exhibitor leaders urged theatres to show trailers on their screens indicating the exits and reminding patrons that smoking is not permitted. In a bullet p. to Philadelphia theatrenien, Sidney E. Samuelson, general manager, E. Pa. Allied, called the action "a splendid victory" and urged exhibitors to .give "full cooperation with the city authorities and by this cooperation we will gain the .good will necessary for future activities." AUGUST 2 , 1948 II