Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1941)

— ert, | theS^tojtion cture xlustry MOTION PICTITRE DAILY NEW YORK, U.S.A., WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1941 TEN CENTS chenck Says oney Paid to eep IA Peace ew s Head Testifies He Feared for Company W ere you afraid of violence to \t person?" Martin Conboy, atIiev for George E. Browne, ;d Nicholas M. Schenck, presijt of Loew's, as the trial of •wne and William Bioff was rened in Federal Court here yesflav. ! didn't say that," Schenck reided. "I was afraid of the consepices that would occur to our busiI if the demands were not met." i he questioning came during the rse of the cross-examination of I enck who had previously testified I E he had waited until 1941 before : klosing to the U. S. Attorney the (Continued on page 4) squire Option on W ashington Circuit Seattle, Oct. 14. — Frederick t Tcy's Inland Theatres Co. circuit b houses in Walla Walla, Ellensg, Toppenish, Kennewick, Pasco and myside has been acquired under a i. -month operating option by a group Midwest operators headed by S. J. i:egory and P. J. Lee. )uring this option, expiring in Febj )ry, 1942, Frederick Mercy, Jr., will ^, as general manager of the houses, " h headquarters in Walla Walla. Ije Mercy houses in Yakima, not hided in the deal, will continue operm under the personal supervision | the elder Mercy. Erpi To Be Division Of Western Electric; Stevenson in Charge Electrical Research Products, Inc., will be merged with the parent Western Electric Co. about Nov. 1 and its domestic activities will be carried on as the Electrical Research Products division of Western Electric, the latter company announced yesterday. T. Kennedy Stevenson, heretofore Erpi president, will become vice-president of Western Electric. He will be in charge of the Erpi division and will have direction of the general accounting, treasurer's and secretary's departments of the parent company. Stevenson was elected a director of Western Electric yesterday and will be president of Western Electric Export Corp., a new company to which ownership of Erpi's foreign subsidiaries will be transferred about Oct. 31. The company's statement asserted that no change will result in the character or method of conducting Erpi's business and that the changes in corporate setup merely are a continuation of the policy of bringing Erpi opera(Continued on page 4) 32.8 of Set Owners Heard World Series An average of 32.8 per cent of all set holders listened to World Series broadcasts over Mutual, according to Cooperative Analysis of Broadcasting surveys. This figure compares favorably with the 1935 series when a rating of 35 per cent was obtained with all networks carrying the program. The last "nickel series," between the Yankees and Giants in 1937, drew 25.3. The 1938 figure was 33.2; 1939, 21.3, and 1940, 25.2. Raw Stock Duty Cut In Argentine Treaty Washington, Oct. 14. — The State Department tonight made public the new reciprocal trade agreement with Argentina, under which that country agrees to bind the present duty on motion picture positives, to reduce the duty on raw stock by onethird immediately, and to reduce the duty on negatives by one-third whenever receipts from imports exceed 270,000,000 pesos in any calendar year. The agreement provides also that U. S. products shall not be discriminated against by duties, fees or other imposts or regulations not applied to the products of all countries. UA Will Serve Minn. Houses from Outside Minneapolis, Oct. 14. — United Artists will service Minnesota accounts from either its Milwaukee, Omaha or Denver branches after the closing of the company's local exchange on Oct. 25, it was stated here today. Two weeks notice of the closing has been given to all exchange employes, about 20 in all an including Ralph S. Cramblet, manager. Cramblet said he (Continued on page 4) 6 More IA Locals To Get Pact Terms For 10% Increase Report Britain To Ease Funds Due U.S. Firms Trade Scouts Wall Street Rumors on Currency Business representatives of the final six IATSE studio locals engaged in negotiations with producers' representatives here concluded their discussions last night and left for the Coast to submit the producers' counter proposals to the locals' membership. Pat Casey, producers' labor representative, stated following yesterday's session that no agreements have been closed with any of the nine I A studio locals. He pointed out that failure of the membership of any of the locals to accept the counter proposals would (Continued on page 6) See Selection of U. A. President Again Delayed Wall Street reports heard in the trade yesterday point to the possibility that Great Britain may release certain of the blocked funds of the motion picture companies, thus permitting these firms a greater percentage of currency withdrawals for the coming year than has hitherto been allowed. These reports place the amount likely to be authorized for remittance at a figure equivalent to 50 per cent of the aggregate annual British revenues of the eight major companies. This does not mean, however, that a flat 50 per cent of next year's rentals will be authorized but, rather, that a lesser percentage of next year's revenue may be designated for withdrawal and, additionally, distributors' (Continued on page 4) Dismiss Memphis Run A ction A gainst Loew's The some run complaint of the Petit Jean Theatre, Memphis, against Loew's was dismissed at the Memphis arbitration board yesterday following hearings, the American Arbitration Association here was informed. Costs were assessed against the plaintiff. Also at the Memphis board, a new some run complaint was filed by the Cotton Boll Theatre, Lepento, Ark., against Paramount, RKO, 20th Century-Fox and Vitagraph. The Strand, Lepento, was named as an interested (Continued on page 6) United Artists Corp. is still minus a president. Up to last night, none had been selected and the likelihood now appears to be that an immediate choice cannot be made, as Alexander Korda is about to return to Hollywood where production duties are demanding his time and attention. And Charlie Chaplin is on the Coast right now. It also has been reported that Laudy Lawrence, newly named representative of David O. Selznick Productions, Inc., will soon set out on a study of the company's operations, including the foreign end, and that it is (Continued on page 6) High Court to Hear Argument on Ascap Washington, Oct. 14— The U. S. Supreme Court yesterday agreed to hear arguments in Ascap's appeal from a Federal statutory court decision in the music society's action attacking the constitutionality of the State of Washington's anti-Ascap law. The high court noted probable jurisdiction in the case but postponed further consideration of the question until after a hearing on the merits. The case probably will not be reached by the court for several months, at which time Ascap will have to show that the Washington case differs materially from the Florida anti-Ascap case. The high court last Spring ruled that the Florida law is constitutional. H. T. Long Manager Of Odeon in Canada Toronto, Oct. 14.— H. T. Long, general manager of Associated Theatres, Ltd., he has been named general manager of Odeon Theatres of Canada, Ltd., following the resignation of O. R. Hanson. The latter is understood to hold a block of stock in Empire Universal, Associated Theatres, Sterling Films and Sovereign Films, (Continued on page 6)