The Independent Film Journal (1952)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

CinemaScope Adaptable For Use In Small Houses, Drive-Ins Bidding Assailed As Probe Of Exhib Complaints Opens Los Angeles. — The Senate Small Busi¬ ness Committee jDrobe into complaints by in¬ dependent exhibitors of alleged discrimina¬ tory distribution practices broke into the open this week with three days of public hearings in Los Angeles conducted by the committee’s monopoly subcommittee, headed by Sen. Andrew F. Schoeppel (R., Kans.). Hearings began with a blast by independ¬ ent exhibitors here against alleged distributor abuses regarding film selling. Competitive bidding was particularly hit. Blast Sales Policies According to Wayne Hanson, general man¬ ager of a circuit of six houses owned by his father in Los Angeles, trade practices forced the closing of 49 theatres in the area and caused financial losses for 75 percent of the members of Southern California Theatre Owners Association last year. Albert Hanson, Wayne’s father, pointed out that local conditions are at the lowest ebb. He suggested that zoning, availability and clearance should be made orderly, uni¬ form and predicated in part upon fixed ad¬ mission prices by exhibition. Hanson suggested the prohibition of bid¬ ding, or its allowance only in competitive situations and under specific rules and regu¬ lations. The second day of hearings was high¬ lighted by the delivery of a 21-pag'e report of the Trade Relations Committee of SCTOA. Cecil Vinnicof gave the report. Resume in Washington Schoeppel said hearings will resume in Washing-ton on April 13. He estimated this phase of the hearings will run approximately one week. The hearings were set up in order to give complaining exhibitors an opportu¬ nity to detail their problems in full. Outlining the objectives of the hearings, Schoeppel stated : “In launching this inquiry wo have no preconceived notions as to the ultimate facts to be established by the hearing. Our sole purpose will be to attempt to resolve prob¬ lems confronting motion picture exhibitors, most of whom are small, independent busi¬ nessmen. ... We are particularly anxious to receive the views of distributors and spokes¬ men for the agencies of the Government having responsibilities in the motion picture field.” Charge Musicians' Film Contracts Blockade" Assailing provisions in musicians’ union contracts with film companies which pro¬ hibit the televising of any film in which the services of live musicians are used, Richard P. Doherty, vice-president of the National Association of Radio and Television Broad¬ casters, told the House Labor Committee that, since music is in virtually every film, “the result is an effectively tight blockade.” Doherty asked the House group to make such provisions that bar the televising of motion pictures illegal. The adaptabilify of CinemaScope, 20thFox’s curved screen process, to theatres of all sizes was demonstrated last week in Hollywood with showings on a 7 x 11-foot screen before top industry executives. Pre¬ vious CinemaScope demonstrations were projected on the giant 65-foot screen. The showings, which consisted of color footage from “The Robe” and “How To Marry a Millionaire,” was reportedly ar¬ ranged for exhibition figures interested in the facility of CinemaScope “for adaptation to any size screen of any size theatre in the country.” After the showing. Bob O’Donnell, of the Interstate Circuit, said “this is ultimate proof that CinemaScope is effective for any size theatre.” Small Screen Used Joining in the appraisal, John Balaban, of B&K, declared, “CinemaScope is the answer: This was proven today when we watched it in a small projection room. “The spectacular element was just as in¬ tense on the comparatively minute screen as it is on a screen that covers the entire wall of a giant sound stage,” Balaban added. Proof of Cinemascope’s adapatability for drive-in theatres was demonstrated through the placing this week of orders for 19 instal¬ lations by the drive-in circuit of Claude Ezell and Associates. Meanwhile, A1 Lichtman, distribution di¬ rector for 20th-Fox, disclosed that exhibitors can obtain application forms for Cinema¬ Scope installation from all the company’s Latest enti-y into the third-dimensional sweepstakes, boasting a new curved screen process, is the Magna Theatre Corp. whose formation was disclosed last week by Joseph M. Schenck and Michael Todd, board chair¬ man and member of the board respectively of the new company. A second organization, known as the Todd-AO Corp., was formed to distribute and lease special equipment necessaiw for the company’s projection system. Equip¬ ment will be manufactured by the instrument division of the American Optical Co. Unusual Films Slated Called the “Todd-AO” process, the new system was declared adaptable for motion picture theatres “throughout the world” and reportedly can be used “without the neces¬ sity for extensive theatre alterations.” Magna, which will produce and distribute its own films, is to operate on a “road show” policy and make films of an “unusual” nature only, according to Schenck. Magna expects to be showing its first film by February of next year, probably at the Broadway Rivoli, he said. The picture will then be taken on the road in 65mm. versions to 20 or 30 houses across the country, Schenck reported. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein exchanges. The applications are being dis¬ tributed in order to gain accurate knowledge of the national demand for CinemaScope, Lichtman said. Lichtman also announced that 20th-Fox hopes to equip 750 to 1,000 theatres with CinemaScope by the end of 1953 and 500 each month beginning in 1954. National Theatres, he revealed, has placed an initial order for 217 CinemaScope in¬ stallations. Brandt Theatres and StanleyWarner circuits are also neg-otiating for CinemaSeo23e, Lichtman added. Lichtman noted that the total of orders already i3laced exceeds 1,500. National Theatres orders will be allocated to the following territorial divisions of the circuit : Other Orders Placed Milwaukee, 18; Kansas City, 64; Denver, 30; New York, Philadelphia and Detroit, one each. Included in these cities are the following theatres; Roxy, N. Y. ; Detroit, Fox; Chinese, Los Angeles; Philadelphia, Fox; San Francisco, Fox; Paramount and Coliseum, Seattle; Milwaukee, Palace, Uptown and Tower, K.C., and Esquire, Denver. Walter Reade Theatres placed orders for 11 houses in New York and New Jersey. Other circuits to order, and number of installations requested, were: Walter Morris, two in Knoxville; Ralph N. Goldberg, six in Nebraska; Savar Corp., New Jersey, 12; George M. Schwartz, Deleware, three; C. Heyward Morgan, Greenville, S. C., three, and Harry J. Schad, Reading, Pa., two. Also, Jack H. Skirball, Ohio, three; Max Laemmle, Hollywood, three; an indeterminate number from John Harris, Pittsburgh; Martin B. Ellis, Philadelphia; Mike Naify, United California Theatres, San Fran¬ cisco; Stanley Sumner, University Theatres, Cam¬ bridge, Mass.; James J. Mirras, Canadaigua, N. Y., and Lloyd J. Wineland, Wineland Theatres, Washing¬ ton, D. C. Theatres included in the additional 69 houses are: Palace and Stuart, Newport News; Wythe, Hampton; (Continued on page 15) II, producers of Broadway musicals, are on the board of Magna, and will supervise the production of the company’s first film, slated for initial shooting in July. Schenck and Todd reported that all shoot¬ ing would be in both 65mm. and 35mni. versions, but that 35mm. versions would be held until after the larger spools had satu¬ rated the market. Todd stated his belief that the 65mm. film would eventually replace the 35 as the dominant industry-used film size. "Participation" Given In discussing the new system, Todd said that it gave a sense of “audience participa¬ tion” and was not “merely a magnification of the image.” “If you see a man riding a horse, you think you’re on that hoi’se,” said Todd. The Todd-AO process requires a con¬ tinuous concave, high intensity screen. The prototype screen, said Todd, to be used for the first installation, will be 52 feet long and slightly over 24 feet high. Smaller sizes with the same ratio of height to length would be feasible, Todd said, and would be used in theatres too small for the 52-foot size. System, employing only one strip of film (Continued on page 15) Schenck-Todd Plans Roadshow Policy For Latest Wide-Gauge 3-D Process THE INDEPENDENT FILM JOURNAL— APRIL 4. 1953 7