Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1949)

■ ■ ■ ■ MOTION PICTURE IN A "jr w jr yC< 1 1 Concise FILM and [ NEWS Impartial u VOL. 66. NO. 68 NEW YORK, U. S. A., THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1949 TEN CENTS Government Says: RKO Divorce Delayed for Two Reasons' To Meet Competition And Get Equal 'Break' The Department of Justice had two reasons for agreeing to RKO's request for a six-months extension of its divorcement deadline, it was learned yesterday. One was RKO's contention that extra time was needed to put its distribution company in shape to compete with other distributors. The other was that in the government's proposed decree for Loew's, Warners and 20th Century-Fox, the government is willing to give 18 months for divorcement, and it (Continued on page 4) 20th Reports New Records Sales records for the first five weeks of 20th Century-Fox's branch managers' testimonial campaign reached an all-time company high, it was disclosed here yesterday by Andy W. Smith, Jr., sales vice-president, as he prepared to leave for Chicago to hold the second of a series of regional sales meetings. More business was done in the period from Aug. 28 to Oct. 1 than at any other time in the company's history, it was said. During the five-week period ended last Saturday, 52 branch records were broken, while in the seven-day period ending on Oct. 1, 14,872 theatres (Continued on page 4) Petrillo, Film Heads Confer on TV Today More than 50 film industry and advertising agency executives will confer today with American Federation of Musicians president James C. Petrillo at the latter's office here on the subject of television film production and its bearing on the employment of instrumentalists. The meeting, suggested by Petrillo, will not be a parley for negotiations but is intended by the AFM head to result in an exchange of information. Columbia's '49 Net Increases; Tops a Million Columbia reported yesterday a net profit of $1,007,000 for the fiscal year ended last June 30, nearly double the $565,000 reported for the previous year. Earnings per share of common stock more than doubled, with $1.08 reported for this year, against 40 cents in the previous year. Profit before taxes in 1948-49 totalled $1,507,000, compared to $1,205,000 reported for the previous 52 weeks. Provision for taxes last year was $500,000, against $640,000 set aside in the year before. Comparative earnings per share of common after preferred stock dividends were calculated on 654,311 shares of common which were outstanding at the end of both periods. Minority Stockholder Loses Para. Suit The Appellate Division in New York has decided that stockholders who refused to vote in favor of Paramount's plan of reorganization are not entitled to have their stock appraised. The decision was handed down in a suit brought by Sol Kokol, owner of 300 shares of Paramount common. The consent decree judgment entered against Paramount last March provided that it was not to take effect unless approved by Paramount's stockholders. At a stockholders' meeting, held last April, over 78 per cent of (Continued on page 4) First World Series Game on Theatre Video Showed: No capacity attendance at cither advanced or regular admission scales. Greatly better patronage than at comparable theatres which did not offer the first game on television. Good technical reception even in remote pickup areas. Good audience reaction. AMPA's Dissolution Debated; Vote Due Varying viewpoints having been expressed by Associated Motion Picture Advertisers' board members and trustees on the question as to whether the 33-year-old organization of industry advertising, publicity and trade press personnel should terminate its existence, AM PA president Max E. Youngstein has asked all members to state their positions on the issue. "If it is your opinion," Youngstein has written to the members, "that the AMPA should go out of existence, would you favor its absorption by the New York Variety Tent No. 35? We believe that we can get the New York Variety unit to waive all initiation fees for AMPA members." Youngstein was the only AMPA president to be elected to two successive terms. Two years ago there was a movement among some AMPA members to dissolve the organization, but those in favor were a minority. SAG May Quit Four-A's And Unite With IATSE The international board of the Associated Actors and Artistes of America yesterdav deferred indefinitely votirg on the "Television Authority" proposal which has met with vigorous opposition from the Screen Actors Guild. Simultaneously yesterday, SAG warned the Eastern talent unions in the Four-A's that the right is beingreserved to ask the SAG membership to instruct the Guild's board as to whether it should continue as a branch of the Four-A's. The Guild warned too that_ it would make "whatever alliances it deems necessary to defend the rights of its members in the field of motion pictures." Whether this meant that SAG would apply for membership in the IATSE could not be determined officially, but it was held to mean just that by some in industry labor circles. Through its public relations director, Buck Harris, SAG asserted yesterday that "it would be most unjust and unfair to actors to force them to ioin a new union (Television Authority) in order to do (television) work they already are doing as members of SAG." Both SAG and Screen Extras Guild insist on recognition as the exclusive unions for talent in the film television field as well as in regular motion pictures. The TV Authority, as proposed, would keen SAG as such out of the film television field. Series Video Fails to Give Theatres 'SRO' Better Than Without It, But No 'Holdouts' By GENE ARNEEL Large screen theatre television of the first World Series game failed to draw capacity business yesterday at the four theatres offering it. Even in the home baliwick of the Brooklyn Dodgers, at Fabian's Fox, first run in Flatbush, about three-quarters of the house was filled, leaving about 1,000 seats unsold. Reports from Boston, Scranton, Milwaukee and Chicago disclosed that the series telecast there drew returns short of capacity also. In each case business was good but not "sensational." Theatres in competition with those offering the baseball video reproductions found their normal matinee trade (Continued on page 4) Republic Net Up 1,200% Net profit of Republic Pictures and subsidiaries for the 39 weeks ended last July 30 were nearly 1,200 per cent greater than the net for the same 39 weeks in 1948. Profit for the 39 weeks this year was $730,116, after provision for Federal taxes estimated at $485,000, deducted from an operating net of $1,215,116. Profit for the same period last year was $102,577, after provision for Federal taxes estimated at $40,000, which was deducted from an operatingnet of $102,577. Schaefer, Kramer Renew Their Deal Returning here from the Coast and key exchange centers yesterday, George J. Schaefer announced the renewal of his arrangements with Stanley Kramer to continue as sales representative for Stanley Kramer Productions for "The Men," which United Artists will release. It is understood that terms for this picture are the same as for "Champion" and "Home of the Brave" in which Schaefer received three per cent of the gross.