Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1950)

dav, April 25, 1950 Motion Picture Daily \enate Group Drops "heatre Band Tax Washington, Apr. 24.— The enate Finance Committee as eliminated from the ending Social Security bill House-approved provision rhich would have increased he toi.ncial burden on large he^n using bands as part ,f tfiTTr stage shows. Under he House bill, the bandsmen fould have been employes of he theatres, rather than of he band leaders, and the heatres would have had to tay the social security taxes. :arter Barron, on behalf of he major circuits, appeared jefore the Finance Commitee some weeks ago and asked that the House change ■ye dropped and the present aw kept. Tax Revenue Is Down 8% Washington, April 24.— General admission tax collections for the four months from December through March, reflecting box-office business in November through February, were almost eight per cent below collections for the comparable four months a year ago. . Film industry representatives have told the. House Ways and Means Committee that the last two months of 1949 and the first two months of this year saw the worst theatre busL ness since the end of the war. A comparison of business during the ariety Clubs Nearly it for Convention Cincinnati Group Blames Tax, TV for Suburban Decline Cincinnati, April 24.— The Federal admission tax, television competition and general economic conditions were blamed for the drastic decline in suburban theatre business here, which at one house amounted to 35 per cent in the past three months, it was disclosed at a four-hour meeting of the Greater Cincinnati Independent Theatre Owners, attended by 30 exhibitors representing 75 theatres. The Glenway, Andulus, Roselawn, Evanston and Shard theatres already have closed, and the Highland, at nearby Ft. Thomas, Ky., is scheduled 1XEWS in Brief four months with the comparable 1948 tQ da"rken Aprn 30. Others are ex 49 months became possible today when | oected t0 close soon_ the Bureau of Internal Revenue released its tax collection figures for March, reflecting February business. March general admission tax collec Tevv Orleans, April 24— Robert D'Donnell, chief barker of Variety S»s International, led a vanguard of >rtainment world figures arriving e today for final arrangements for association's convention at the HoRoosevelt on Wednesday ^ and jrsday. Upon his arrival, O'Don1 said that showmen the world over ak a common language and through jir humanitarian works they are ating a better understanding among men. Gorman L. Carter, chairman of the Kv Orleans executive committee, i his aides on the new convention lee announced the program with ^istrations and social sessions to <e up most of Wednesday. The aesday meeting will take up various •siness affairs of Variety, including various charities. tions were $32.910,332— up sharply over the $27,909,723 collected in January and the $21,431,143 collected in February, but still a little over five per cent below the $34,716,074 collected in March 1949. Collections for the December through March months totaled $115,765,148 this vear against $125,317,388 a year earlier. Theatre men have contended that the situation is even worse than the tax collection figures indicate. pected to close soon. Plans are being considered to close suburban runs several days a week or several weeks during the year. Suggestions to lower admission prices were rejected as economically unfeasible. One exhibitor spokesman said that out of 40 theatres with which he was in constant contact, only six are operating at a profit. The largest volume of business in television sets has been recorded here than in any other city in the nation, it was revealed. War RKO Radio, United Artists ners and Universal. The Cole committee is bent on having bidding, if it must be used, "applied in a commonsense and equitable manner," Cole indicated. He implied that the companies misuse bidding by asserting that they "blandly think bidding is a cure-all to keep lawyers off their necks in the future." Cole said the results of the committee's conferences with the sales heads will be withheld until after the group reports to the Allied board. •ercentage (Continued from page 1) Cole disclosed also that the commite, which includes Wilbur Snaper idney Samuelson, Charles Niles and ving Dollinger, is endeavoring at e same time to change the distribu>rs' "attitude toward this abortion filled bidding." The group conrred yesterday with Paramount dislibution vice-president A. W. chwalberg and 20th-Fox sales vice resident Andy W. Smith, Jr., at '•parate meetings. Dates have been |iade for conferences this week with le sales heads of Columbia, M-G-M, In CHICAGO ft IP 20th's TV Test (Continued from page 1) 20th-Fox's 'Dynamo' (Continued from page 1) ITTLE ISLAND played 7 BIG WEEKS A Universal-International Release that "Movies Are Better Than Ever," purposing to show that insofar as this company is concerned, "the claim is not an empty one, and that 20th-Fox will follow through with performance." This special is being mailed direct from 20th's 37 branches in the United States and Canada to 21,000 theatre operators and managers, theatre advertising and publicity men, circuit executives, circuit film buyers and circuit film bookers, as well as to the motion picture editors of all daily newspapers in key cities in the two countries. In addition, copies are also being distributed among exhibitors overseas, through the foreign offices. Appearing in the book are product and sales messages from Darryl F. Zanuck, Al Lichtman and A. W. Smith, Jr., and detailed information and photographs on current and future product. Roger Ferri is the editor of Dynamo. further demonstration in June at the company's New York offices of the technical advances which have been made in the exploratory work with RCA. He said the equipment will be ordered immediately for the 20 theatres, all in the Los Angeles area, if this "demonstration is satisfactory, as we fully expect it to be." Skouras said the company has invested "large sums of money in working with RCA to develop largescreen television." He added: "I wish to announce here today that 20thFox and its subsidiary, National Theatres, while waiting for channels from the Federal Communications Commission, propose to invest millions of dollars and go ahead immediately to prove to the world, to the television industry, and to the false prophets and skeptics, that television can achieve its greatest height through theatres.'' Skouras said that with television he foresees "a golden era for theatres unlike any they have ever known." He predicted that theatre attendance will be "tripled within a short time." As for the future, Skouras stated : "If the test on the West Coast fulfills our confident expectations, we can look forward to the establishment LEADERS from the entertainment industry are expected at the Hotel Astor here tonight when New York's Cinema Lodge of B'nai B'rith holds its annual presidents dinner to its retiring president, Saul E. Rogers and its incoming president, Albert A. Senft and pays tribute to Alan Corelli, executive secretary of Theatre Authority, Inc. Los Angeles, April 24.— Panorama Theatres, Van Nuys, filed a Federal court suit today under the antitrust laws against the major distributors and Fox West Coast, charging conspiracy to deprive the complainant of first run films. • George Skouras of Skouras Theatres and B. S. Moss of B. S. Moss Corp., have been named co-chairmen of the amusement division of the 51st anniversary celebration of the National Jewish Hospital at Denver. • A brief work stoppage yesterday afternoon by television technicians at NBC and ABC studios here slowed operations and caused the cancellation of two NBC video programs. Union negotiators and the companies were able to restore regular operations by six P.M. • Washington, April 24. — John Howard Lawson and Dalton Trumbo today filed rehearing petitions at the Supreme Court, asking it to reconsider its April 10 refusal to review a Circuit Court decision upholding their contempt of Congress convictions. Hollywood, April 24. — Enrollment of 48 new members was announced today by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, with the total membership at about 1900. of four or five competitive networks or circuits in each natural area or time zone of the country — in New York, Chicago, Denver, Atlanta and Los Angeles, to service from 500 to 1,000 theatres in each network." Cites Majors Who Refused Films for Phonevision Test Chicago, April 24. — Attending the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers convention today at the Hotel Drake, E. F. McDonald of Zenith told the press, following Spyros Skouras' luncheon speech, that not only 20th Century-Fox, but Paramount, RKO and another major distributor, which he couldn't "recall," have refused him product for Phonevision tests beginning Sept. 1. Moyse Services Wilding Kern Moyse, president of Peerless Film Processing Corp. here, reports that equipment for Peerless film treatment has been installed in the laboratory of Wilding Picture Productions in Chicago. The treatment is said to extend the life of motion picture film. "Gives Paramount plenty to shout about. Will make moviegoers sit up and take notice!" — Film Bulletin