Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1947)

p^TRfOTION PICTURE IN FILM NEWS DAILY 62. NO. 103 NEW YORK, U.S.A., WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1947 TEN CENTS Film Exports Are Running 45% Over '46 Equipment Exports Up About 150%, Says U. S. Washington, Nov. 25. — Despite additional restrictions abroad, exports of U. S. films will run about 45 per cent higher this year than last, according to a report issued here today by Commerce Department motion picture consultant Nathan D. Golden. He estimates that exports of equipment will be about 150 per cent above 1946. During the first nine months exports of exposed or developed 35mm. and 16mm. positive and negative feature films totaled 239,790,538 feet, nominally valued at $6,519,808, compared to 210,175,437 feet valued at $5,308,860 for Jan.-Sept. 1946. The bulk of this was accounted for by 35mm. positive features. Shipments to the United Kingdom in the first nine months of the year— {Continued on page 2) Finkel Reelected W. Pa. Allied Head 6 , 8 9 6 , 6 3 2 EMPLOYMENT BAN Nine-Month Net for RKO ON SUBVERSIVES Consolidated net profit of RKO and subsidiary companies for the first nine months of 1947 was $6,896,632, including profit on the sale of capital assets. After taxes and all other charges, this was equivalent to approximately $1.76 per share on the 3,924,913 shares of common stock outstanding. This compares with a net profit of $9,963,906 for the first nine months of 1946, equivalent to approximately $2.59 per share on 3,839,600 shares outstanding on Sept. 28, 1946. Profits on the sale of capital assets amounted to $4,764,766. This includes a profit of $3,158,913 on the sale of Pathe News to Warners during the third quarter. Third quarter profit was $1,789,285, (Continued on page 8) Pittsburgh, Nov. 25. — All officers and directors were reelected for another year at the 27th annual convention of the Western Pennsylvania Allied Theatre Owners, which was brought to a close in the William Penn Hotel, here, tonight. They are: Morris M. Finkel, president ; Fred A. Beedle, vice-president; Fred J. Herrington, secretary ; Joseph Gellman, treasurer. Board of directors includes M. A. Rosenberg, L. M. Conrad, George J. Corcoran, H. Goldberg, Dr. C. E. Herman, Norman R. Mervis, Frank (Continued on page 7) Royal Wedding Film Opens Here Today All the soaring grandeur and solemnity of the Royal Wedding has been vividly captured in a 30-minute J. Arthur Rank Technicolor subject. Rushed here at record-making speed, a special screening of the film, titled "The Royal Wedding," was held at the Universal-International home office last night. With the royal nup( Continued on page 2) N.Y. 1st Run Receipts Off Some New York first-run theatremen already are finding evidence of pre-Christmas competition from shopping centers. Current week's grosses range from poor to very good, but the majority appear mediocre. Monday's inclement weather kept grosses low for the day, but this is expected to be more than offset by tomorrow's Thanksgiving Day and Friday's takes, Friday being a school holiday. Frank Sinatra, and "Her Husband's (Continued on page 6) Allied Returning to D. of J. on Ascap Washington, Nov. 25— On the basis of Ascap' s recently announced rates for per-piece licensing and the difficulty in working out the necessary details for such licensing, exhibitors should have no trouble demonstrating to the Justice Department that the Ascap consent decree offers no relief, Allied States counsel Abram F. Myers declared here today. Myers said Allied' s entire' Ascap program would be determined at the coming board meeting and convention at Milwaukee, and indicated that the Justice Department would soon again be hearing from National Allied and Allied units on the exhibitors' need for "relief" from Ascap. 10 Cited for Contempt To Be Ousted; Known Reds' Not to Be Hired Film Rights to Gatti Expedition to Mills Motion picture rights to the GattiHallicrafters African expedition which will embark from New York on Friday, have been purchased by a group headed by E. C. Mills, a member of the United Artists board of directors and former general manager of the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers. Associated with Mills are Fred McConnell, veteran film sales executive and producer, and Joseph Fliesler, publicity-advertising executive and former New York exhibitor. A com pany to handle the feature-length pic (Continued on page 8) 'Captain from Castile 9? \20th Century-Fox} — Lavish Actjon Drama ACTION, drama and suspense are present in generous measure m /A this richly produced motion picture based on Samuel Shellabarger's *■ novel of the Spanish conquest of Mexico in the early 16th Century. Tyrone Power, as the Captain from Castile, is a durable, death-defying cavalier whose exploits herein are sure to win the hearty approbation of his large following in all age groups in your audience. Photographed in Technicolor, the production is often a spectacle of scenic backgrounds in Spain and the semi-tropic jungles and mountainous areas of Mexico. Shown to full advantage are the costumes of the Spanish dons of the period, the battle regalia of the motley "army' that followed Fernand Cortez into the New World and the colorful garb and the temples of the Aztec subjects of the Emperor Moctezuma. Under Henry King's direction, the emphasis is on action. There is plenty of it, hard-riding pursuers and pursued, swordmanship, physical encounters, violence of varied kinds and military maneuvers. Romance (Continued on page 8) In a move restricted to the production end of the industry in Hollywood, chief executives of major companies and representatives of independent producers concluded a two-day meeting here yesterday on the subject of employment of known Communists by adopting a policy which calls for the following : 1) Immediate discharge or suspension without compensation of the 10 Hollywood men cited for contempt by the House of Representatives, without re-employment unless they are acquitted or purge themselves of contempt and declare under oath they are not Communists. 2) No Communist or member of any group which advocates the overthrow of the Government by any illegal method is to be employed, if known to be such. 3) Hollywood talent guilds to be invited to work with man (Continued on page 6) Trial of 10 Cited May Be in January Washington, Nov. 25. — Houseapproved contempt citations against 10 Hollywood writers, directors and producers may be presented to the Federal Grand Jury here next Monday and might reach trial by midJanuary. Attorney General Tom Clark has ordered U. S. District Attorney George Fay to expedite the case as much as possible. Meanwhile, House Un-American Activities Committee Chairman Thomas said that his group had not yet definitely decided to send a subcommittee to Hollywood to wind up the first phase of its film industry investigation. No Paper Tomorrow Motion Picture Daily will not be published tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day, a legal holiday.