Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1940)

10 Motion Picture Daily Wednesday, December 4, 1940 Broadcasters Dispute F.C.C. Police Powers Washington, Dec. 3. — The FCC is powerless to act so long as a broadcaster meets the requirements of the FCC relating to public interest and character, it was argued today by Phillip Hennessey, NBC counsel, at the final hearing before the commission on its monopoly committee report. Closing the two-day hearings, interested parties were given until Dec. 16 in which to file briefs suggesting methods for improving competition. Hennessey declared that even though a licensee may use the power of his license to suppress competition and engage in unfair practices, the FCC is without authority to act so long as the licensee meets the commission's requirements. Hennessey made this assertion after Martin Gang, representing the Independent Artists' Representatives, and Waddill Catchings of Associated Music Publishers had charged the two major networks with using their artist bureaus to the disadvantage of independent agents. Louis G. Caldwell, Mutual counsel, submitted recommendations for regulation of networks closely approximating those suggested last week by the FCC. Caldwell charged the two competing networks were operating in violation of anti-trust laws. Joins Director Guild As Publicity Adviser Hollywood,. Dec. 3. — George Brown, former publicity director for Columbia and until recently a member of the Warner studio publicity department, has joined the executive staff of the Screen Directors Guild in a public relations advisory capacity. Brown refused over the weekend to state his exact position with the guild, and whether he was resigning his Warner post or applying for a leave of absence. Ascap Membership Now Includes 1,306 Admission of 44 new members to Ascap brings membership to a new all-time high, Gene Buck, president has disclosed. The total of 1,306 includes 1,166 composer-authors and 140 publishers. Including the 44 most recently admitted, 139 have joined this year. Heading the list of serious music composers joining recently are Eugene Ormandy, conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Aaron Copland. Among the newly added popular song writers are Jimmy Dorsey, Bennv Meroff, Walter O'Keefe and Mort Greene. Off the Antenna \Af ORK on the new FM transmitter for WCAU, Philadelphia, will start * * immediately, and should be ready and in operation within three months, officials said. 'We hope to have a construction permit for a television transmitter granted to us by the FCC in the near future," it was said by officials. • • • Purely Personal: Samuel Bicknell, of the IVOR sales promotion department, was married recently to the former Mary Elton Roberts. . . . Tom Hamilton, IVOR salesman, became the father of a ly^-pound boy last iveek. . . . Jimmie Lunceford will start a weeks' engagement at Locw's State tomorrow and will go into the RKO Keith, Boston, Dec. 12. . . . Dick Bray, WSAI, Cincinnati, sportscaster, and the former Patricia Sharkey have been married. . . . Robert Henderson, of the NBC news department, a lieutenant in the Naval Reserve, is en route to Pensacola, Fla., for active duty. He is the first NBC employee to be called up. • • • KFBC, Cheyenne, Wyo., will join NBC Saturday as a bonus outlet on the Blue network Mountain Group. As of Dec. 15, NBC will have 219 affiliates. KFBC operates on 1,420 k.c. with 250 watts day and 100 night. The cut-in announcement rate is §6 nights and $3 days. • • • WTAD, Quincy, 111., will join CBS Jan. 1 to become the network's 123rd affiliate. WTAD has been authorized to operate on 900 k.c. with 1,000 watts, full time. The basic rate will be $125 per evening hour. • • • Program News: Red Barber has been selected to do the description of the professional football championship game Sunday from M/ashington. Mutual announces that 121 stations will carry the game. . . . Ben Grauer's contract as announcer on Kay Kyser's "College of Musical Knowledge" has been renewed effective Jan. 22. . . . Al Pearce and his Gang have been renezved over CBS for an additional 26 weeks by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. . . . The J. B. Williams Co. has renewed "True or False" over 23 NBC-Blue stations. . . . Members of the cast of Oxydol's "Ma Perkins" will celebrate the seventh birthday of the show on NBC at a dinner at the Racquet Club, Chicago, tonight. Two of the cast, Virginia Payne and Charles Egelston, have been with the program since its debut on Dec. 3, 1933. Mutual Nov. Gross Up 91%; CBS Rise 6% Mutual gross billings during November almost doubled over the corresponding month in 1939, showing an increase of 91.9 per cent, most of which was due to last minute political bookings. CBS, too, was aided somewhat by political talks and showed a 6.2 per cent rise over November, 1939. The gross take for CBS for November was $3,689,778, as compared with $3,474,163 in the same month last year. Mutual grossed $627,562 for the month, as compared with $327,045 in November, 1939. Cumulatively for the first 11 months gross billings for CBS were $37,205,560, a rise of 20 per cent, and for Mutual $4,190,071, up 39.6 per cent. Stromberg Set Sales 10% Above Last Year Rochester, Dec. 3. — Stromberg Carlson radio sales during the current year have exceeded by 10 per cent last year's figures, when more sets were sold than in any year since 1929, Wesley M. Angle, president, has reported. The company at present is carrying a backlog of orders for all types of equipment 400 per cent greater than at this time last year, Angle said. Upstate Theatre Burns Salem, N. Y., Dec. 3. — Vivien Sweet's Star Theatre here was destroyed by fire last night, with the loss of prints on a feature, newsreel and short subject. It followed the burning of Lafe Quinlan!s_ide.al Theatre, Chateaugay, recently. Legion Approves 7 Of Nine New Pictures A Czech film was condemned, a French film was classified as objectionable in part, while four pictures were found unobjectionable for general patronage and three unobjectionable for adults, of the nine films reviewed and classified by the National Legion of Decency this week. The films and their classification follow: Class A-l, Unobjectionable for General Patronage — "Barnyard Follies," "Border Legion," "Melody Ranch," "Take Me Back to Oklahoma." Class A-2, Unobjectionable for Adults — "Dr. Kildare's Crisis," "Mayerling to Sarajevo," "Tin Pan Alley." Class B, Objectionable in Part — "Two Women." Class C, Condemned— "Merry Wives." BMI Gets Cuban Music BMI has announced the acquisition of' the performing rights of music controlled by Institucion Nacional de Autores, Compositores y Editores de Cuba, which includes most of the native Cuban music, it was said, as well as those owned by D. Appleton-Century Co. which includes many arrangements of Gilbert & Sullivan music, sacred music, and a number of classical composers. Ingrid Bergman Loaned Hollywood, Dec. 3. — David O. Selznick has loaned Ingrid Bergman to M-G-M to star with Robert Montomery in the film version of James Hilton's book, "Rage in Heaven." Robert Sinclair will direct. Rehearse Guild Plan The Theatre Guild's production of Tennessee Williams' new play, "Battle of Angels," has gone into rehearsal with Miriam Hopkins in the leading role and Margaret Webster directing. Musical Films Escape Radio Ban on Ascap (Continued from page 1) belong to the producer who copyrights the entire motion picture. It is pointed out in the memory! ♦ dum that a musical work is considered to belong to Ascap if either the composer, or lyric writer, or publisher, or arranger, is a member of Ascap, or if any of them are members of a foreign society which has an agreement with Ascap. Even where such a person is under contract to a studio, the small rights still belong to Ascap, if he is a member. Individual Songs Not Permitted Since small rights in such instances belong to Ascap, individual songs alone from' a picture will not be per mitted on the air either to exploit films or for any other purpose. How ever, the grand rights belong to the producer and with his permission the songs may be used over the air pro vided the entire film or a substantial portion is dramatized over the air at the same time. The same ruling, in the opinion of the CBS copyright bureau, applies to musical comedies, operas, operettas, revues and major symphonic works. "In some instances," says the memorandum," the line of demarcation be tween small and grand rights is ex tremely fine. Therefore, each case must be considered individually." The memorandum sets forth precau tions to be taken to avoid infringe ment of the Ascap rights after Jan. 1 and points out that penalties of not less than $250 and not more than $5,000 may be imposed for violations The Ascap membership contract provides for control of small rights on compositions by members in all classifications and deals with future as well as past works. After listing publishers with whom BMI has agreements and other music available, it is pointed out six recording companies are turning out nonAscap recordings. BMI will furnish at least 500 recorded titles before Dec. 15 as a bonus service, without charge, to member stations. CBS will have an 18-hour-a-day music clearance department which will also operate weekends, but because of the complicated structure the usual last minute changes will not be possible. Duplication restrictions on the network will be reduced from two hours to one. Programs which will benefit principally under the grand rights ruling which refers to films will be such shows as "Lux Radio Theatre," "Screen Guild Theatre" and the Kate Smith show, all of which give long dramatizations of the film stories they use. However the loss of exploitation values because individual songs cannot be used on the air will still be substantial, it was pointed out. It is likely that BMI will make some of its original music available to film companies for their mutual benefit.