Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1947)

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OfUIS DIGfST A h'lK nioiiK'nt in Jiiok L. Wanior'n «M«re«r wan tbv preNentiitjoii <>f tliC' liiirl'cst civilian auiinl, tlK' Medal for Merit, bi'lii^ prcseiitwl by General of the Army 11. li. Arnolil, on behalf of the President »f the V. S. Frank tannder (left). Itriti^h writer and director of "The Adventuress," plans the <anipaigni for the film with Kagle-I^ion a(l-pnl>li<'ily director >Iax Youngrstein. UA sales head Gra<l Sears hands OTer a chunk of prize money to midwest district manager Rod Lohrenz, winner of the Grad Sears Gold Cup Drive. (Continued from Page 11) That famous trade mark of Maurice Chevalier, the Htraw hat, wax the tfitt betttowed on the French act«r by AMPA prexy Rutgers NellHon to welcome him back to American movies. zation.s and fivir and Kovernmental groups throughout the State. George Gold, of Newark, was named Director-Chairman of the Federation, outlining plans for a campaign to acquaint theatre patron.s and general public with the need for combatting the tax legislation. Screens in the 400 theatres, serving four million persons, will be one of the mediums used in the campaign. A five per cent admissions tax bill in St. Louis was killed as local t'xhibitors marshalled their forces in opposition to the measure, led by Fred Wehrenberg, MPTO president. During the campaign to doom the legislation, 70,000 postcards from citizens protesting the tax had been sent to the Board of Alderman, it was revealed by James Arthur, representing the Fanchon & Marco-St. Louis Amusement Circuit, city's largest. Throughout the rest of the country, however, proposed tax legislation affecting theatres was rampant. Measures have been introduced in State Legislatures proposing enactment of admissions taxes or increases in the present rates in New York, Delaware, Iowa, Maryland, Oregon, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Texas, Maine and Wisconsin. * • • U-l. RANK, SCHLESINGER IN ALLIANCE A three-way distiibution and exhibition deal between Universal, J. Arthur Rank and the Schlesinger group of South Africa was announced simultaneously in London, New York and Johannesburg, providing for the exhibition by the Schlesinger interest.s in Africa, south of the Equator, of all films produced by U-I and by the Rank group. Under the terms of the deal, Universal and Rank acquire an interest in African Con.solidated Theatres, Ltd., and African Consolidated Films, Ltd., Schlesinger subsidiaries, while the latter will acquire interests in Britain and America. The Schlesinger group, which controls distribution to over 400 theatres, while operating a sizeable number itself, also announced plans for the future development of production in South Africa, with "large modern production studios" to be constructed at Johannesburg, with the anticipation that Rank and Universal "may also become interested in African Film Productions Limited thereby making available the vast film production resources of those two groups." « « • B & K APPEALS JACKSON PARK DECREE The decree in the Jack.son Park case in Chicago would force the defendant exhibitors out of business and would stifle Windy City competition instead of promoting it, it was contended in an appeal brief filed by Balaban & Katz in the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. The decree requires B&K to restrict their Loop first-run houses to single features with a maximum of two weeks per feature, subsequent-runs to one week, eliminates clearance between first and second-runs and permits the Jackson Park to license films ahead of B & K's Maryland Theatre. * * * "MESSAGE" FILMS UNPOPULAR — BERGMAN Pictures with a "message" and those that emphasize "vital issues and questions" have met with meagre success in their reception by the public, Maurice A. Bergman, Universal-International Eastern ad-publicity director, (declared during a discussion over the Columbia Broadcasting System on the topic "Is the Influence of the Movies Good or Bad?" The U-I executive upheld the former, while Bosley Crowther, N. Y. Times film critic, assayed the latter. Bergman forecast that Hollywood will be the first to recognize and comply with the public's desire for films "of a more revolutionary nature" once the public "indicates its pleasure" in seeing such films. Granting that "it has never been proved just how much influence any motion picture has upon the public," Bergman pointed to the industry's production code "which compels producers to constantly demonstrate that the bad are punished and the good triumph" as a factor in his argument. He replied to the charge that it is the movies' "obligation to devote its resources to changing the public taste to the degree that the movies will have more influence in raising the standards of entertainment," with the question, "Who could decide what is good and what is bad?" Crowther contended that of some 350 entertainment films made in Hollywood each year, approximately only 20 are substantial as serious drama or as worthwhile diversion, maintaining that the influence of "cheap movies ..is bad, and that a bane of our civilization is that commercialism floods the market with such films." He minimized the box-office returns as a gauge for public opinion, saying that people go to movies by force of habit. * * * MONOGRAM SETS 32 FOR NEW SEASON Monogram's 1947-48 program will have 32 features and 16 westerns, it was revealed by president Steve Broidy at a board of directors meeting in Chicago last week. In addition, there will be four Allied Artists productions during 1947 and six AA bigbudgeters in 1948, Broidy declared. The number of features is the same as that for the current season, but the westerns have increased by two, explained by Broidy, "The popularity of good Western films is increasing steadily" pointing to the "top-budget Western pictures now being released by major companies." In addition, budget on the eight Johnny Mack Brown and eight Jimmy Wakely westerns has been increased by 50 per cent, with $100,000 earmarked for advertising-publicity. Total advertising budget for 1948 will be increased to almost $3,000,000, including Allied Artists product, Broidy stated. Monogram board members at the meeting, presided over by Broidy in the absence (Continued on Page 27) FILM BULLETIN