Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1947)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY Accurate Concise and Impartial V^^61. NO. 81 NEW YORK, U.S.A., FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 1947 TEN CENTS UJA d A ragged, hungry, homeless orphan child, alone in a cold, hostile country. CJ A mother with fear in her heart, terrible memories of horrors behind and dread uncertainty ahead, frantic with anxiety for those left of a shattered family. CI A husband and father, broken and in tatters, deep in the desperation of the need and suffering of those whom he would save, protect and nurture — and hardly a glimmering of hope before him in the terrible aftermath of war. Any of these vignettes make an understandable figure to any of us. The individual, child, mother or father, or all of them, we can visualize. Meeting any of them in living contact, we would instantly reach to extend a helping hand. The demand of charity, the call of human sympathy, would be immediate, compelling. But the picture becomes a blur of statistics when it comes multiplied, like dots on a map, in the figures of the multitude represented by the 300,000 Jews in the Displaced Persons camps of Europe and the hundreds of thousands of others who are dependent upon American mercy for survival. To see and understand we must think of that unhappy child, the frantic mother, the desperate father, as individuals — people, even as you and I; people with a right to live, to some small share of care and comfort. We must iweep away the columns of figures, the impersonal statistics, to realize that the call upon our human obligations is the aching need of that child, that mother, that father. The story of the United Jewish Appeal tells us that the need is multiplied several hind red thousand times. That is why so many of us must give generously of our resources so that the many who are to be rescued from a hell of hate and want and desperation shall not await in vain their rescue. MARTIN OU1GLEY RKO Profit of $12,187,805 Is 100% Rise Equal to $3.17 a Share; Theatre Income Cited A consolidated net profit for 1946 of $12,187,805, which is more than double the previous year's profit of $6,031,085, was announced for Radio Keith Orpheum Corp. by president N. Peter Rathvon in his annual report to stockholders yesterday. Rathvon said the 1946 result was a substantial improvement over any other year in the company's history in both gross revenue and earnings. Gross receipts from distribution attained a record volume of $72,966,727. (Continued on page 8) N. Peter Rathvon Brooks to Direct 'M.P.H.'RoundTable W alter Brooks, veteran showman, has been appointed director of The Round Table department of Motion Picture Herald. He will assume bis (Continued on page 8) Decree Affects Only 25% of RKO Houses More than 75 per cent of the theatres operated by RKO are unaffected by the partnership dissolution provision of the New York Court's decree in the industry antitrust suit, N. Peter Rathvon, RKO president, said yesterday, in his annual report to stockholders. In the case of the 25 per cent affected, he said, negotiations are either pending or have been concluded, looking toward acquisition of outside interests or disposal of RKO's interests. MPF Elects 11 at Washington Meeting Washington, April 24. — Eleven charter members were elected today to the Washington exchange area committee of the Motion Picture Foundation. Elected were: John J. Payette, Warner Brothers ; Sam Galanty, Columbia ; John Allan, M-G-M ; Julian Brylawski, Carter Barron and Sidney B. Lust, Washington . theatremen ; Lawrence Schanberger and Lauritz C. Garman, Maryland ; John Di Fiore, Delaware ; William M. Crockett and Morton G. Thalheimer, Virginia. The 11 will elect six more, and from the 17, a national trustee will be elected within a week, according to Brylawski, today's chairman. "The Motion Picture Foundation is the most magnificent edifice yet to be erected in the industry," Louis A. Novins, assistant to Barney Balaban, said as chief speaker at the meeting. 'New Orleans [ Jules Levey-United Artists ] — You'll Tap Your Toes T ULES LEVEY, who once sold 'em and now makes 'em, has a I whale of a good show in this story dealing with the birth of jazz and its spread to parts far and near. The idea is hardly new, but memory dictates that rarely has it been handled with, such warmth, believability and aliveness. The story surrounding the pivotal idea, moreover, is very serviceable and lacking in the artificialities which have hampered predecessors drawn out of the same pattern. It is quite probable that the answer is to be found, not so much in the original, as written by Elliot Paul and Herbert J. Biberman, as in the script which was written by the former and Dick Irving Hyland, plus the smoothness of the direction, capably contributed by Arthur Lubin. But, whether in solo or in combination, the principal factors identified with the making of "New Orleans" have managed to avoid banality. In fact, they have been quite successful in rounding out their handiwork with a constant flow of good touches. This attraction is tops in the (Continued on page 5) House Group Votes End of Building Curbs Material Shortages Would Restore Amusement Ban Washington, April 24. — The House Banking and Currency Committee today approved a bill ending all commercial construction curbs. However, at the last minute it included an amendment giving the Government power to require a permit for construction of buildings for amusement purposes if a government agency certifies that there is, or there is likely to be, a building material shortage. Theatres are presumably included. The Civilian Production Administration has been growing more liberal in issuing permits for the construction of new theatres in so-called "hardship cases," having issued about 30 such permits within the past month. 20% Tax Cut Before Mid1948 Unlikely Washington, April 24. — Chance of a reduction of the 20 per cent U. S. admission tax before mid-1948 is nil, according to present tax plans of Republican leaders. ■ And even then, there's no guarantee of any cut, it is said. Until recently, sentiment among House tax planners seemed to favor an overhauling of excise taxes, in ( Continued on page 8) U-I Sales Officials Start Field Visits Universal-International's top product will be the subject of talks set to begin this weekend by William A. Scully, distribution vice-president, and his entire home office sales staff in visits to key cities for discussions with field representatives, and to make personal contact with exhibitors. Scully (Continued on page 8) In This Issue "Hit Parade of 1947" is reviewed on page 5. Key city grosses are given on page 9.