Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1948)

8 i Monday, April 19, 1948 Motion Picture Daily 3 Loew's in Move to End Minority Suit Loew's has proposed a settlement in the minority stockholders' suit brought against the company, present and former officers and directors and the People's Candy Co., over operation of Loew's theatre candy counters by the latter. In answer to charges that unfavorable * witracts were made with People' ^jy_idy, Loew's offered to revise the extracts, requiring the candy firm to pay Loew's subsidiaries approximately $161,000 additional for the year ended Dec. 31, 1947. The plaintiffs further charged that the company should have deducted as a corporate expense for income tax purposes alleged profit made by Nicholas M. Schenck on the exercise of options on the company's stock and that the company should have recovered profits made by him in a stock sale. The company proposes that Schenck give it a one-year option to acquire from him 10,000 shares of present stock of the company at $13,335^ per share. iV. Y. Film Resources Enthuse Mamoulian Natural resources of New York, the "greatest untapped source of exciting real-life background," has captured the enthusiasm of Rouben Mamoulian, now visiting here from Hollywood, and returning to the Coast on April 28. Citing the reaction to UniversalInternational's "The Naked City," Mamoulian said that "there can be no argument about the great advantages of New York for certain types of stories, where you really want to capture the feel of city streets and life. Other types of stories can best be done in California." He believes it is essential to have at least three to five days of uninterrupted rehearsal time for "over-all" reading and studying of a script before cameras start in order to hold retakes to a minimum. Rubin, Mulvey Confer Robert Rubin, attorney for the Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers, is in New York for conferences with James Mulvey, president of Samuel Goldwyn Productions, who has been representing SIMPP in the current talks here among U. S. companies' representatives on the dollar split-up of British remittances under the tax settlement agreement. Rubin will return to Hollywood on Wednesday to report to the SIMPP executive committee. SLS f 1574 W Wosh-1 WB Bid for Chicago Television Station Washington, April 18. — Warner Brothers has applied to the Federal Communications Commission for permission to build and operate a television station in Chicago. Balaban and Katz are already licensed there. Warner executives here were unable on Friday to give details of the company's Chicago television move. Pickwick's Owners File Mortgage Suit C. E. Haring and Grenfield, Inc., owners of the Pickwick Theatre and building, at Greenwich, Conn., have filed an action in New York County Supreme Court against Guardian Life Insurance Co., holders of the first mortgage on the property, for an accounting of rentals collected by the defendant. Charles Raff, plaintiff's attorney, states that they maintain Guardian collected rents over a number of years enough to cover the $315,000 mortgage held, and therefore Haring and Grenfield are entitled to come into unmortgaged possession of the property. Plaintiff has made application for a temporary injunction against Guardian, returnable May 18. For many years the Pickwick was involved in anti-trust and other litigations. WB's Haines Holds District Meeting Roy Haines, Warner's Western division sales manager, held a meeting of the company's Prairie district sales force over the weekend in St. Louis. Attending were Hall Walsh, district manager, and branch managers, D. P. Webster, Des Moines ; R. C. Borg, Kansas City; F. J. Hannon, Omaha; Lester Bona, St. Louis. National Release of 'Best Years' Is Set Samuel Goldwyn's "The Best Years of Our Lives" will go into national release Thursday with its first popular-priced engagement at Boston's Astor Theatre. The film previously played 20 weeks at the Esquire and three at the Memorial in that city. Writers Plan Film Forum Associated Film Writers, representing film writers in the East, plans a series of forums dealing with educational, commercial and documentary films. Each forum will feature a representative panel and films will be shown and discussed. 'Round Up' Set for June 16 Salt Lake City, April 18. — Annual territorial exhibitor-distributor "Round-Up" of the local Motion Picture Club will be held here June 1618. Giff Davidson is chairman. Debrie Distributor in U.S. Photographic Instrument, Inc., here has been named distributor for the new Andre Debrie film printers to be manufactured in this country by Reeves Instrument Corp. FCC Approves AT&T Video Relay Chain Washington, April 18. — Federal Communications Commission has granted authority to A. T. & T. to build two experimental micro-wave relay chains, one between Chicago and Milwaukee, the other between Detroit and Toledo, at a total cost of $1,400,000. The relay system will be used for television transmission, among other things. Completion date is set for June 15, 1949. The Commission also granted the application of A. T. & T. and certain Bell System associates for television terminal facilities in Detroit, Toledo, and Buffalo, linking these cities with wire or micro-wave network. Two coaxial units were authorized for Cleveland and Buffalo. Fabian, Schine Seek Television Permits Albany, Aprl 18. — Van Curler Broadcasting Co., of which Si Fabian is president, has applied to the Federal Communications Commission for one of four television channels available in the Albany-Troy-Schenectady area. Company was an unsuccessful bidder last year for the WOKO AM wave length. Eleanor Fabian Rosen is vice-president, Sam Rosen is treasurer, and Edward L. Fabian, secretary. Patroon Broadcasting Co., Schine company, is one of three others applying for a television permit. Film Problems Up At Television Meet Solutions to problems posed by television's future relations with motion pictures will be discussed tomorrow at the third national Television Institute trade show, opening at the Hotel New Yorker today. Among subjects on the film-television agenda will be film clearance for television, film exhibitions on networks versus individual stations, basis for figuring film rentals for telecasts, and other subjects. FTC Checks Video Ads Washington, April 18. — Television advertising, like that of other media, is being checked by the Federal Trade Commission for false, misleading and deceptive matter. Canada Film Imports For Feb.: $238,000 Ottawa, April 18. — Canada's film imports in February amounted to $238,000, compared with $221,000 for the same month last year. Total for the first two months of 1948 was $448,000, against $426,000 for the same period in the preceding year. 130% French Levy {Continued from page 1) the government adopt a dubbing tax of 2,000,000 francs ($7,000) per imported film, he said. Satori believes it would be difficult to have such a tax adopted in France at present, particularly in light of current attempts by the French government to secure increased film exhibition benefits under the Blum-Byrnes accord. Rank Does the Honors Eddie Rickenbacker, chairman of the board of sponsors of the World Council of Christian Education, will be honored by that organization at a luncheon here tomorrow at the Hotel Biltmore, with J. Arthur Rank, chairman of the British administrative committee of the organization, presenting him with a scroll for his service to the organization. Rowland in Mexico William Rowland will make "Medal of Honor" and "This Is My Brother" in Mexico for Southern California Pictures. He has left New York for Mexico to arrange for studio space. The director is expected to return to New York in several weeks before heading back to the Coast. Mexican Film Bank Aid Mexico City, April 18. — Loans, credits and discounts totaling $2,813,756 were received by the Mexican film industry from its own bank, Banco Nacional Cinematografico, in the first quarter of the year. 'Union' to Goldman Philadelphia, April 18. — "State of the Union," which will have its premiere simultaneously in all 48 states, will open here at the Goldman Theatre on Wednesday, April 28. RKO RADIO PICTURES, Inc. TRADE SHOWINGS PHILADELPHIA DETROIT (RKO Projection Room) 250 NO. 13TH STREET BERLIN EXPRESS 10:30 A.M. DESIGN For DEATH 2:30 P.M. (Blumenthal Projection Room) 2310 CASS AVENUE DESIGN For DEATH 10:30 A.M. BERLIN EXPRESS 2:30 P.M. THURSDAY, APRIL 22