Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1948)

MOT ■ iuu uui — r DO NOT RFMO^ ;r PICTURE DAILY Accurate Concise and Impartial V'r\Vs63. NO. 80 1'$ NEW YORK, U.S.A., MONDAY, APRIL 26, 1948 TEN CENTS 7,442 Buyers For 16,880 U. S. Theatres 647 Circuit Purchasers, 6,795 NonCircuit An analysis by Motion Picture Daily of the 31 exchange area directories issued by the Motion Picture Association of America shows that a grand total of 7,442 individuals or companies sign contracts for the 16,880 theatres in regular operation in the United States. Some 647 independent and affiliated circuits, each of four or more theatres, purchase for a total of 8,605 theatres and 6,795 individuals or companies purchase for the 8,275 noncircuit theatres. The average circuit contract signer buys for 11,206 seats while the average non-circuit buyer buys for 622 seats. Total seats in the regularly operat (Continued on page 4) Goldwyn Bids Profit Sharing for Writers Samuel Goldwyn recommends the abolition of the 'salary system for a majority of screen writers, simultaneously offering them a share in the profits of pictures for which they write screenplays. In an article appearing in The Screen Writer, Screen Writers Guild publication, Goldwyn urges Holly(Continued on page 4) 2-Day Republic Sales Parley in Chicago Chicago, April 25.— James R. Grainger, Republic distribution chief, presided at the opening session today of a two-day sales meeting at the Blackstone Hotel. Edward L. Walton, assistant sales manager, who accompanied Grainger from New York, will return to that city after the parleys, while Grainger will continue on to Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles, returning to the home office about May 15. SIMPP Probing Buying Combines Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers is conducting an intensive legal study of operations of leading independent buying and booking combines in key areas throughout the country to determine whether restraint of trade, coercive or discriminatory practices exist. Robert J. Rubin, general counsel of SIMPP, is conducting the study. On its conclusion he will prepare a report with recommendations for the SIMPP's board of directors. Decision will be made at that time whether grounds for legal action against the combines exist and, if so, whether or not the Society should bring actions. Prior to his departure from New York for his West Coast headquarters on Friday, Rubin declined to (Continued on page 4) BMI Does Not Plan To Tax Theatres Washington, April 25. — -Allied States Association general counsel Abram Myers announced here on Friday that he had been assured by Broadcast Music, Inc., it does not contemplate collecting public performing royalties from motion picture theatres. Myers released an exchange of letters with Carl Haverlin, BMI president. Haverlin said there is nothing to justify any assumption a "change in BMI's policy with respect to the clearance of film music at the source is under contemplation." Allied States circulated the report of a BMI theatre music tax in its last organizational bulletin. 20th-Fox, RCA Work On Theatre Video Twentieth Century-Fox has entered into an agreement with RCA under which both are working to perfect large screen theatre television, Spyros Skouras, 20th-Fox president, informs stockholders of the company in his annual report. The report states that a television department has been established as a branch of the company's research division. Balaban, Warners In Stock Deals Washington, April 25. — Paramount president Barney Balaban has given 1,200 shares of Paramount common to the B. and T. Association, Inc., leaving him with 1,400 shares, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission report on trading by company executives and officers. Balaban also holds $2,000,000 in Paramount 2*4 per cent convertible notes, (Continued on page 4) Capital Speculates Over Trumbo Jurist Washington, April 25. — Trial of Dalton Trumbo, second of the 10 Hollywoodites cited for contempt of Congress during the House Un-American Activities Committee's hearings here last fall, is slated to get under way in District Court here tomorrow, with the key question of the moment being what judge will be assigned to the case. If the case draws someone other than Judge Curran, who presided over the trial of John Howard Lawson, the Trumbo case may go very differently from the Lawson proceedings. Defense attorneys might succeed in efforts to go into the questions of the House committee's attempts to "dominate" the film industry, what constitutes "un-Americanism," and whether the House sub-committee which carried on the Hollywood hearings was legally constituted. M-G-M's Louis B. Mayer has again been subpoenaed by defense attorneys, along with members of the House committee and other witnesses. On Friday, counsel for Lawson filed a motion for a new trial. May 3 Hearings for Reciprocal Program Washington, April 25. — A House Ways and Means sub-committee will hold brief, closed hearings starting May 3 on President Truman's request for a three-year renewal of the reciprocal trade program, and hopes to have a bill through the House and to the Senate by May 15, according to sub-committee Chairman Gearhart. Likeliest bet is a one-year extension of the act. 20th-Fox Net For 1947 Was $14,003,640 Has $25,000,000 3 Year Bank Credit Twentieth Century-Fox reports consolidated net profit of $14,003,640 for 1947, which compares with net profit of $22,619,535 for the preceding year. _ The company's profit for 1947 was its second highest in the past five years. Income for 1947 dropped to $186267,980 from $196,749,249 the preceding year. Company said the decline is accounted for principally by a drop in theatre receipts last year of $5,650,000 and a reduction in film rentals of $4 350,000. Of the latter amount, $4,200,' (Continued on page 2) MGM Heads Discuss Production Abroad Louis B. Mayer, head of M-G-M production _ in Culver City; E. J. Mannix, his executive assistant, and Ben Goetz, in charge of British production, will arrive in New York this morning from the Coast for conferences with Nicholas M. Schenck, president of Loew's, on plans for M-G-M production in Europe. Following discussions with Schenck, (Continued on page 4) Set Minimum Air Shipment Rates Washington, April 25.— Civil Aeronautics Board has set minimum rates for air shipment of films and other freight at 13 to 16 cents a ton-mile. Under the order, all air cargo operators must charge at least 16 cents a ton-mile for the first 1,000 ton-miles in any one shipment, and at least 13 cents a ton-mile for all excess ton-miles in that shipment.