The Independent Film Journal (1954)

Polaroid Assures 3-D Spec Supply Cambridge, Mass. — Exhibitors will be able to show Universal’s new 3-D picture “Re¬ venge of the Creature” without risk of run¬ ning out of glasses or getting left with an over-supply, under a new service announced by Polaroid Corp. According to J. H. Mulhall, in charge of viewer sales for the com¬ pany, the exhibitor “can order the number of glasses he is sure of using, to start with. Then if the picture draws better than ex¬ pected, he can get more glasses overnight as he needs them.” To encourage good projection, the com¬ pany is also offering new port filters of top optical quality at no charge, and a limited number of special outfits for keeping 3-D films in sync are also being made available. Mulhall stated, “Polaroid Corp. has a long¬ term stake in stereoscopic motion pictures. Properly shown, with good filters, good syn¬ chronization and good glasses, 'Revenge’ can be another money-maker . . . and another demonstration of the drawing power of 3-D.” Exhibs Counter City T axBreakage Appeal New York City exhibitor lawyers will file a respondents’ brief at the Court of Appeals in Albany concerning the breakage issue of the local five percent amusement tax, it was learned this week. The brief will be filed in opposition to an appeal by Assistant Cor¬ poration Counsel Stanley Buchsbaum against the recent Appellate Division ruling that the city had no authority to collect more than five percent of the established admission price. An exhibitor lawyer revealed that the brief will also mention the city’s administrative code provision which deals with ticket print¬ ing regulations. Under the present city code, admission tickets are allowed only to have the admission price and Federal tax printed on them, the attorney said. Anything else printed on the ticket, including the local levy, would have exhibitors committing a mis¬ demeanor, he said. A hearing on the briefs will be held on March 3 in Albany. Snaper Claims Distribs Cause False BO Claims The sales policies of distribution are re¬ sponsible for the rumored increase in false box office reporting, according to a bulletin issued by Allied of New Jersey to its mem¬ bership. Signed by president Wilbur Snaper, the bulletin stated that while false reporting “is not to be condoned,” it is “understand¬ able.” Snaper asserted that “when a man’s livelihood is threatened and his family’s se¬ curity endangered by the willful practices of a few men, he will fight with every means at his command.’’ The bulletin suggested that exhibition’s fight should be carried to each of the com¬ pany presidents. “Many people say the presidents . . . have no idea of what is go¬ ing on . . .,” wrote Snaper. “This is hard to believe. . . . Certainly, up to now, it has been of little avail to speak with sales managers.” Army Clearance Fought Washington. — Army and Air Force of¬ ficers are not satisfied with a tentative agree¬ ment reached between Defense officials and exhibitor representatives under which thea¬ tres in nearby small towns would get 14 days’ clearance over post theatres, according to word from the Pentagon. The film indus¬ try committee is scheduled for another meet¬ ing at the Pentagon at press-time, at which time they had expected to finalize the agree¬ ment. Defense officials have agreed in principle to a proposal that post theatres must wait 14 days after the film plays in a nearby and competing private theatre. The waiting pe¬ riod would not apply if the private theatre fails to play a film within 30 days of its first release in the exchange area. The industry committee in turn proposed two relaxations of present restrictions on post theatre attendance. At present retired military personnel are not permitted to at¬ tend; the committee asked that they be al¬ lowed to do so. At present dependents of active military personnel must be accom¬ panied by a military man ; the committee asked that dependents be allowed to attend unaccompanied if they can properly identify themselves. Total Not Revealed The number of civilian theatres involved was not revealed by TOA’s A. Julian Brylawski, member of the film committee, who held a press conference following the last meeting two weeks ago, but Brylawski said that 97 post theatres are concerned. He also said that the proposals are designed to pro¬ tect only small theatres, and that no big cities are on the list submitted to Defense. All situations are in the South, Southwest and on the East Coast, he said, and their opera¬ tors have complained to TOA or Allied about post theatre competition. The plan, as it finally emerges, must be accepted by the distributors, but the com¬ mittee was said to be able to speak for exhibitors only. The committee, however, was confident that the distributors would approve. Besides Brylawski, Walter Reade Jr. and E. D. Martin represented the industry at the last meeting, along with John Adams of Texas COMPO and MPAA’s Kenneth Clark. New Station Ruling The FCC’s television station multipleownership rules have been declared invalid by the U.S. Court of Appeals. The FCC had turned down, without hearings, a TV station application submitted by Storer Broadcast¬ ing on the grounds that the company had in¬ terests in the maximum number of stations permitted under the rules. The maximum number is five. The court unanimously ruled that the FCC had no authority to fix an arbitrary numerical limit “as the boundary of public interest.” The FCC will probably take the case to the Supreme Court. Japanese Tax Okay The Senate has approved the Japanese tax treaty under which Japanese taxes on U.S. film rentals in that country cannot exceed 15 percent. No Probes Planned The Senate Small Business Committee has no plans for further probes this year into film industry distribution practices, staff members revealed. A questionnaire mailed to all committee members asking about topics in which they were interested failed to turn up one mention of film industry problems. Damages As Income? The Supreme Court has heard arguments on the question of whether punitive damages in anti-trust eases constitute taxable income. The Tax Court, in the case of exhibitor Wil¬ liam Goldman, ruled that only the direct damages are taxable, and the Supreme Court agreed to hear the Government appeal from this verdict. The Government argaied that under the income tax law it is empowered to tax income from any source whatever, while the exhibitor argued that only the direct damages can be termed income for tax purposes. CBS Asks No Review Columbia Broadcasting System has asked the Supreme Court to refuse to review the Warner Bros. Pictures copyright case against CBS, Dashiell Hammett and others. Warners bought exclusive rights to the “Maltese Fal¬ con,” and charges copyright infringement in later sale to CBS of the rights to use Sam Spade and other characters from the book. CBS told the Supreme Court that the lower courts were right in ruling that the author retains the right to his characters even though he sells a novel. More Time For AB-PT American Broadcasting-Paramount Thea¬ tres will get a further extension of divestiture time in which to dispose of 43 remaining theatres out of the 774 required to be di¬ vested under the consent decree, according to Justice Department officials. The deadline was Mar. 3, but AB-PT will now get an¬ other six months, or until Sept. 3. About 27 of the remaining theatres involve joint own¬ erships, Justice reported. Higher Charges Blamed Increased film theatre charges for special attractions “in several cities” were re¬ sponsible for raising reading and recreation costs in January, according to the Labor Department’s consumer price index. Para Installs Big VV The Paramount Theatre, Times Square flagship of the ABC-Paramount chain, is installing its new VistaVision projectors and a new wide screen for the mid-April open¬ ing of “Strategic Air Command,” starring James Stewart and June Allvsoiu The screen is reported to be 70 by 40 feet in size, and theatre officials say it will be the largest in the world. Conversion work will be done at night, so that regular performances will not be interrupted. 14 THE INDEPENDENT FILM JOURNAL— March 5. 1955