Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1940)

Wednesday, January 3, 1940 MOTION PICTURE DAILY 11 Plan for RKO Is Confirmed By High Court (Continued from page 1) were a complete transfer of assets to the new company, payment of allow_)L.)es and issuance of securities. r-w>/he decision also removes any question as to the execution of the agreement under which Atlas underwrites 500,000 shares of new RKO common stock. The agreement, as offered by Atlas, stipulated that a decision of the Supreme Court granting a review of the plan would give Atlas the right to withdraw. Cassel had attacked the plan with the contention that it did not adequately compensate debenture holders for their loss of security and preferred creditor status. Stirn claimed that the 1931 charter amendments of the company were invalid and that certain compromises of claims were improper. On appeal to the Circuit Court his principal attack was directed against Atlas participation. Trade Watches Bills In State Legislature (Continued from page 1) throughout the state are vigorously opposed to its imposition. An eleventh hour drive for a sales tax in 1939 failed because the Republican majority in the Senate could not whip the necessary 26 votes into line for Senator Martin's measure. Upstate mayors and town officials have already prepared their sales tax demands for the 1940 session beginning today and at least a 50-50 chance of passage is accorded exponents. Theatres, of course, are hopeful of excluding admissions from any sales tax scale, but would have scant chance of so escaping from a broadbased levy of this nature. Next in importance is an effort to legalize bingo and bank nights. The New York State Council of Churches has announced its intention to fight any further attacks on the state's anti-gambling statute. Along the line of gambling will be included the legalization of pari-mutuel horse race betting to effectuate the 2-1 vote given the amendment by the voters last November. Since the margin was so decisive, there is no question but what the enabling act will be adopted, but the fight is expected to circle about exhibitors' efforts to keep race track admission prices up above a dollar to offset threatened betting competition with the theatre. Senator John J. Dunnigan and other pari-mutuel advocates are expected to fall in line with this theory. Theatre chains and MPTOA members, particularly in Western New York, will make a strong fight against more race tracks in the state. Assemblyman Robert Crews will re-introduce the I.A.T.S.E. "full crews" measure. Such controversial issues as a raise on footage, tax on admissions, billboard tear-downs and theatre employment agencies will again recur, with both the Federation of Labor and CIO groups favoring a change in the employment agency statute. '39 Billings Up 14%, Set Mutual Record Gross billings for 1939 rose to $3,329,782 for the Mutual network, an increase of 14 per cent over the 1938 figure of $2,920,324. The 1939 gross was the largest in Mutual's history. In December, billings totaled $317,699 as compared with $337,369, a drop of 5.8 per cent. Cooperative shows produced a gross revenue of $402,043 during the year. Among the agencies, Ivey & Ellington gave Mutual the largest amount of business, a total of $521,614. The other leading agencies were : Ruthrauf & Ryan, $420,016; R. H. Alber Co., $304,651; Erwin, Wasey & Co., $228,265; B. B. D. & O., $224,405; Biow Co., $157,036; Critchfield, $132,460; Young & Rubicam, $113,008; Grady & Wagner, $102,576 ; and Kelly, Stuhlman & Zahrndt, $99,565. Small Brokers Still Defy Tickets Code The deadline set by the League of New York Theatres for the signing of the ticket code by the smaller brokers passed yesterday without any change of attitude by either side. Gustave A. Gerber, attorney for Associated Theatre Ticket Agencies, declared that "We haven't been hurt yet" but indicated that legal action would be brought to restrain enforcement of the code as soon as the present supply of tickets was exhausted. Most of the brokers, who receive their allotments in advance, have a supply for the next 10 days. Six brokers, including the three largest agencies, have accepted the code. TBS Delays Start For 30 More Days Transcontinental yesterday set out to obtain the business which would permit the network to start operations on Feb. 1. TBS, which was originally scheduled to start Jan. 1, was compelled to postpone the opening when BlackettSample-Hummert declined to place the accounts of American Home Products and Sterling Products. Network officials asserted that B-S-H had made definite commitments to place the show, while the agency declared that the business was not placed because it contended that TBS had failed to offer sufficient evidence of its financial stability. Assessment Fights By 20th-Fox, Roxy Twentieth Century-Fox and the Roxy Theatre, in separate N. Y. Supreme Court actions, yesterday took steps to obtain reductions of 1938 tax assessments. Application was filed by Fox for an order directing the City Tax Commission to file a return to a suit by the company for a reduction of $115,000 on 1938 assessments. Taxes affect a warehouse and two buildings owned by the company in New York. The City Tax Commission was directed by Supreme Court Justice McLaughlin to file a return by Feb. 13 to Roxy's application for $995,000 assessment reduction on 1938 taxes. Failure to do so will result in contempt proceedings, the order provided. U.A.Will Contest G o 1 dwynWarner 'Westerner' Deal (Continued from page 1) livering the picture to Warners. Industry attorneys pointed out that this would involve a legal test of the Goldwyn contract with United Artists, which was the objective of the Goldwyn action dismissed by the Wilmington Federal court last week. United Artists denied reports that Goldwyn had been given a release from his contract or that the producer's one-fifth stock interest in United Artists had been turned in to the company. United Artists officials are on record as having stated that they would give Goldwyn a release if he relinquished his stock in the company, for which, they said, he paid nothing. Goldwyn is scheduled to arrive in New York from the Coast on Saturday to receive the award of the New York Film Critics who recently voted his "Wuthering Heights" the best picture of the year. The award will be presented at the Rainbow Room on Sunday. Equity Postpones Television Action Action by Actors Equity on television wage scales was postponed until next week at yesterday's council meeting because of the failure of the American Federation of Radio Artists to send a committee to discuss the issue. The council asked A.F.R.A. to send Emily Holt, executive secretary, and George Heller, New York executive secretary, next week if A.F.R.A. is still unable to assemble a committee. Discussion among Equity members yesterday centered around the need for immediate negotiations with NBC. Philip Loeb, chairman of the committee which is investigating Equity's relations with its parent body, Associated Actors and Artistes of America, read his report but the contents were not made public. The report concerned itself mainly with the financial setup of the 4-A, and was sent after the meeting to Screen Actors Guild, A.F.R.A. and Chorus Equity. It is believed that the four branches, which are the heaviest financial contributors to the 4-A, may unite in a plan to effect economies. Dismiss Trust Suit In Florida Court Miami, Jan. 2. — The anti-trust suit filed Jan. 19, 1939, against eight major companies and two local circuits, Paramount Enterprises, Inc., and Wometco Theatres, Inc., has been dismissed in Federal Court. Plaintiffs were Washington Operating Co. and Garden Operating Co., which operate the Cameo and Surf. Herman Weingarten, president of both companies, Brooklyn theatre operator now at Miami Beach, will retire from exhibition in this area. H off berg Changes Name J. H. Hoffberg has changed the name of his company from J. H. Hoffberg Co., Inc., to Hoffberg Productions, Inc. RKO, 4U' Sign Deal With Ad Accessories (Continued from page 1) distributor will be rented. All material must be returned by the exhibitor and no article will be sold, Casanave said. He said that rates to be charged would be "very moderate," but declined to compare them with current accessories' costs due to the fact that much of the material now is being sold outright, thus affording no accurate basis for comparison. Exclusive Distribution Contracts with the distributors give Advertising Accessories exclusive distribution rights to the entire display ad material of the companies. These include all standard accessories in the poster, card and ad mat lines. In addition, the same organization will be able to supply exhibitors with all of the special accessories now being distributed by National Screen Accessories. With the inception of the deals on Feb. 1 Advertising Accessories will take over all of the regular size paper now on hand in the exchanges of the three companies with whom it has closed and begin handling that material. Gigantic Artists Staff The new company, as it did in the case of Paramount, will absorb as many of the employes of the RKO and Universal accessories departments and the distributors themselves will absorb others, it was said. Advertising Accessories eventually will have one of the largest art staffs in the commercial world, Casanave declared. He emphasized that advertising heads of the individual companies would continue to originate the ideas for the display ads and will send their visual sheets to Advertising Accessories for development and manufacture. In this way, he pointed out, any danger of the accessories of all companies becoming standardized will be avoided. Casanave pointed out that the development will be a great convenience to the exhibitor, who will be able to purchase a large part of his total accessories needs in a single office, and that the distributors will benefit by having their accessories sold by a sales organization specializing in those lines alone. 5-Year Campaign Successful He said that the deals just closed culminate a five-year effort by National Screen to establish centralized distribution of accessories. The new company hopes eventually to add exploitation novelties and specialties for rental to exhibitors,, he said. Announcement of the new service has brought instantaneous response from exhibitor organization leaders throughout the country in wires of approval, Casanave said. Among those commending the innovation were : Abram F. Myers, chairman, and H. A. Cole, president of Allied States Ass'n. ; Ed Kuykendall, M. P. T. O. A president ; Max Cohen, president of New York Allied ; Harry Brandt, I.T.O.A. president, and W. A. Steffes, president of Northwest Allied.