Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1950)

FILE COPY MOTION PICTURE ■ DAILY VOL. 67 NEW YORK, U.S.A., THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1950 TEN CENTS Basic Issue of Censorship To High Court 'Cur ley' Petition Seeks Rule on Constitutionality Washington, March 15. — The United States Supreme Court today was asked to declare motion picture censorship unconstitutional in a petition filed by United Artists and Hal Roach which asks the tribunal to review the "Curley" case. Motion Picture Association, of America is lending its support in pressing the issue. Possible significance beyond the legality of film censorship is seen by some industry attorneys who believe that a Supreme Court opinion holding censorship in violation of the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of press and speech, would pave the way to exemption of films from excise taxes, similarly as newspapers and magazines are exempt. The UA-Roach petition asserts film (Continued on page 5) Push 'Showmanship' Enthusiasm: S chine Gloversville, N. Y., March IS. — A meeting of all department heads of the Schine Circuit board heard an enthusiastic report from Louis W. Schine, Gus Lampe and Seymour Morris, home office representatives, on last week's 20th Century-Fox "showmanship meetings" in Chicago, which they attended along with 300 other circuit executives and exhibitors. Schine explained the details of the (Continued on page 2) Boston Concentrates On 'Showmanship' Boston, March 15.— Effective today and to run indefinitely, all motion picture theatre display advertisements in Boston newspapers will carry the line: "Movies Are Better Than Ever," keynote motto for the "Showmanship" drive which evolved from last week's "Showmanship Meetings" held in Chicago under the sponsorship of 20th Century-Fox. 23 Features, 4 Reissues from Para, in 1950 Hollywood, March 15. — Paramount has scheduled 23 features and four reissues for 1950, compared with 25 features and four reissues in 1949, the company disclosed here today in its annual product announcement. The 1950 program follows : "Dear Wife" is now going into release, with William Holden, Joan Caulfield, Billy De Wolfe, Mona Freeman and Edward Arnold, and directed by Richard Haydn, to be followed with two Easter holiday releases : Frank Capra's "Riding High," starring Bing Crosby, and "Captain Carey, USA," co-starring Alan Ladd and Wanda Hendrix, directed by Mitchell Leisen and produced by Richard Maibaum. "No Man of Her Own," starring Barbara Stanwyck and John Lund, di (Coutiuued on page 2) Denver Allied Meet To Be Held May 16-17 Denver, March 15. — Allied Rocky Mountain Independent Theatres has set its annual convention for May 1617 at the Cosmopolitan Hotel here. With John Wolfberg, president, in the chair, several national Allied officers and board members are expected to be present and make talks. Possible effects of television on theatres will be a major subject. It is expected that most of the exhibits at the drive-in owners' convention in Kansas City just prior to the meeting will be brought here. FOUR SENATORS HIT JOHNSON FILM BILL New Delay for RKO, Metropolitan Split The repeatedly postponed deadline for RKO's action on disposing of its stock interests in Metropolitan Playhouses here was put off again yesterday, the new date being set at March 22. RKO's shares in the circuit amount to about one-sixth of the total ownership and must be divested under terms of the company's consent decree in the industry anti-trust suit. Warner Strike Vote Monday IATSE leaders here have given Warner's 525 home office "white col lar" workers permission to take a strike vote, it was revealed yesterday by Russell Moss, executive vice-president of "IA" Motion Picture Home Office Employes Local No. H-63. Permission was granted in a letter signed by Thomas J. Shea, assistant to "IA" international president Richard F. Walsh. The local already has called a general membership meeting for Monday night at Palm Gardens here, to vote on strike action. First threat of a strike came last week when Walsh was petitioned for permission (Continued on page 2) SEE TAX CUT ROUNDING OUT PRICES TO NEAREST NICKEL O'Dwyer to Address 20th-Fox Meeting Mayor William O'Dwyer of New York will be a principal speaker at the 20th Century-Fox "Showmanship Meeting" of this area, to be held at the Hotel Astor on March 23, it is announced by Martin Moskowitz, Empire State sales division manager, and Sam Diamond, New York branch manager. Moskowitz said attendance by 1,000 exhibitors, representing 1,086 Metropolitan area theatres, is indicated. An open forum, luncheon, special addresses, a cocktail party and a "sneak" preview at the Roxy are on the meeting agenda. Washington, March 15. — -If the admission tax is cut or repealed, will the theatre ticket price be reduced by exactly the amount of the tax cut? Informed industry observers here believe that the answer to that question is "on an average, yes, but in each individual case, no. In some cases, the reduction may be more ; in some cases, less." Here's the way they figure. No one likes to handle pennies. It's a headache for the exhibitor and a nuisance for the patron. So if the tax is cut and the exhibitors want to live up to their promises to pass on the saving, they will probably exercise a little discretion and round prices off (Continued on page 2) Republican Solons Praise Industry; Call Licensing Bill 'Unconstitutional' By J. A. OTTEN Washington, March 15. — Four U. S. Senators today took the Senate floor to defend the motion picture industry and to criticize Sen. Ed Johnson's (D., Colo.) film licensing bill. The inevitable counterattack against the Johnson bill was launched by Sen. Alexander Wiley, Wisconsin Republican, who warned that the bill would certainly be declared unconstitutional and called on the Senate Interstate Commerce Committe to defeat the measure. Soon after Wiley's speech, Senators William F. Knowland (R., Calif.) and Edward J. Thye (R., Minn.) made statements in defense of the industry, and Sen. Harry Cain, Washington Republican, ended the day with (Continued on page 5) 20th Speeds Filming; 12 in Work by May Acting immediately upon plans for the expansion of studio facilities and the subsequent increase in the number of releases for 1951 and 1952, 20th Century-Fox has set an intensified shooting schedule for the next twoand-a-half months, the company reported here yesterday. Darryl F. Zanuck, production vice-president, and his studio staff will have 12 pictures (Continued on page 2) Sees End of Freeze On Video Licenses Washington, March 15.— Federal Communications Commission Chairman Wayne Coy indicated yesterday that the freeze on television licenses might be over by the end of the year. "I hope (I do not predict) that the Commission will be able to resume the processing of applications before this year is out," Coy told a University of Oklahoma radio conference.