Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1950)

day, May 11, 1950 Motion Picture Daily 3 ra. Profits (Continued from page 1) Reviews on's share in undistributed eamI partlv-owned non-consolidated nies was $1,420,000 in 1949, t. $1,788,000 in the previous idends during 1949 amounted to 1.019. or $2.00 per share, final annual report which was by president Barney Balaban ccc^ Npied by consolidated balshet Jl 'or the two new compass they began separate operations •c. 31, 1949. amount Pictures Corp. had tourrent assets of $69,813,272, ;t current liabilities of $7,846, Film and other inventories ited to $37,379,778. Cash and and Canadian government sess (at approximate market or ption value) were listed at •5,777. ted Paramount Theatres had to:urrent assets of $26,435,453, it current liabilities of $10,686,Cash and U. S. government ities were listed at $24,583,718. t month, United Paramount re1 earnings of $3,193,000 for the i three months of 1950 which, tny president Leonard Goldenson represented a drop of about 18 ;nt under the corresponding 1949 er. He added, however, that this ubstantially higher than earnings e last quarter of 1949. Parat Pictures Corp. is expected to : its first quarter earnings witht next few days. lect Paramount Board 1 board members of Paramount res Corp. are expected to be dates for re-election at the corion's first annual meeting of holders, at the home office here jne 6. "The Skipper Surprised His Wife (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) NO great snakes of a comedy, this. In fact, the effort gets strained and tissue-thin before Robert Walker, the skipper who surprises Joan Leslie, finally gets back to sea after a couple of months of misadventure on shore. The misadventures set in when he is assigned to radar school after a year away from home port and his wife and two young boys. His family finds him pretty much of a stranger, but it works in reverse as well. Miss Leslie wants Walker to quit the Navy for a cushy shore job. He does not like the idea. Anyhow, Miss Leslie breaks a wifely ankle, which throws the burden of the household over to Walker. He decides to organize it according to Navy discipline and efficiency after doing a lot of silly research among the women of the neighborhood. The wife leaves the skipper whose obligations as a husband and father are pinpointed by Leon Ames, the family baby doctor. This brings her back to the family hearth. At the close, Walker walks out on a shore job and returns to the sea as aide to Edward Arnold, who plays an admiral. Walker's experiences at cooking breakfast, at decoding the laundry secrets of a mangier, etc., are amusing. But efforts at sustained comedy are unavailing. Performances by the principals are standard. Elliott Nugent directed and William H. Wright produced, from a story and screenplay by Dorothy Kingsley, who worked from an article by Commander W. J. Lederer, U.S.N. Running time' 85 minutes. General audience classification. For June release. Red Kann Short Subjects •T Loan (Continued from page 1) at $1,500,000 will be payable in of the first two years, $2,500,000 ch of the next three years, and X000 in the last year ending Feb. E8. be circuit has an additional loan '3.500,000 against an available !t of $12,500,000 for use in re.iging theatre interests. "The Torch" (Eagle-Lion) A FICTIONALIZED incident in a Mexican uprising is told in "The Torch" which was made at the Churubusco Studios. The picture fea tures Paulette Goddard and Pedro Armendariz and it is endowed with excellent camerawork by Gabriel Figueroa. As for the story, it starts out with intriguing possibilities, yet somehow the power inherent in the theme is never fully realized. This potential is dissipated largely in transparent melodramatics. Armendariz portrays the general of a revolutionary army that has taken hold of a Mexican city. Forthwith, Armendariz brings his revolutionary fist down on all persons of wealth. By chance Armendariz catches the eye of the tempestuous Miss Goddard who is the daughter of the town's most prominent aristocrat. It follows naturally that Armendariz relaxes his iron regulations insofar as Miss Goddard or her father are concerned. For the major part of the picture Armendariz tries unsuccessfully to court the fiery-tempered Miss Goddard, but she has no use for revolutionaries and besides, she is engaged to Walter Reed, an American doctor. The fretful rivalry between the two rises and falls rythmically until an influenza epidemic seizes the city, where upon the couple is finally drawn together in love. The finale sees Miss Goddard going off with Armendariz to become a camp follower, something that her aristocratic blood previously resented. Others in the cast are Gilbert Roland, a priest, and Julio Villareal, Miss Goddard's father. Bert Granet produced, Miss Goddard was associate pro ducer, Emilio Fernandez directed, from a screenplay by himself and Inigo de Martino. Running time, 90 minutes. Adult audience classification. June release. Mandel Herbstman Cody of the Pony Express" Columbia Pictures — Serial ) The fans will be eagerly awaiting each successive episode of this 15chapter Western serial. An increase in outlawry caused by a shady Eastern syndicate plotting to gain control of the Western frontier, brings Army undercover investigator Lieut. Archer Jock O'Mahoney) and young Pony Express rider Bill Cody (Dickie Moore) together in a common cause. With a small group of comrades, they team up to discover and bring to justice the secret leader, played by George Lewis, and his outlaw gang. Every villainous trick is used by the outlaws, but Cody and Archer persevere through countless harrowing experiences to eliminate the gang of renegades. Others featured in the serial are Peggy Stewart, William Fawcett, Tom London and Helena Dare. Directed by Spencer Bennet and produced by Sam Katzman. 15 chapters. G, TVA, NLRB (Continued from page 1) TOA Meet Monday (Continued from page 1) :;rned will reaffirm the Guild's hisi representation of performers in :>n pictures for all exhibition purh, including television." |e SAG statement indicated that juild, which already has filed for 'cal NLRB election in Southern ]rornia, will file similar petitions jfier sections of the country. Thus R's strategy is to take the offen. through local, individual elections, je TVA's is to fight on a national ie Guild, meanwhile, has notified TV networks and stations here 3 SAG hopes TVA's contract nego3ns for performers in "live" tele■n programs "will move to a ly and successful conclusion." Guild emphasized it does not p, nor has it every claimed, jurison over simultaneous kinescopes ive television programs. Such scope film should be bargained :by TVA, the Guild said. get underway shortly in line with correspondence between Pinanski and company heads. Sullivan indicated that the executive committee no doubt will consider what form the talks j should take, that is whether individual ' TOA representatives should be assigned to talk to individual company presidents or whether a committee should be set up to confer with the presidents separately. A demonstration of Phonevision was given Sullivan yesterday at the TOA office here by Zenith Radio president Eugene F. McDonald. It lasted three hours. Asked how _ the demonstration impressed him, Sullivan said "no comment." Divestiture Stays (Continued from page 1) Schines Sued (Continued from page 1) ages trebled, was filed in Federal District Court. Named as defendants are Schine Chain Theatres, Schine Theatrical Co., Schine Circuit, Schine Lexington Corp., J. Myer Schine, Louis W. Schine and John A. May. The eight major distributors are named as "co-conspirators." be argued on Friday before Justice Douglas. The Department, in a seven-page statement filed today, said the film companies only had to file plans in the next six months to a year, and there was no reason they could not go ahead preparing these plans while the appeals were being taken. It ar gued that this was especially true since the companies should have known since the high court decision in May, 1948, that there was a likeli hood of divorcement and more than likelihood of divestiture. It pointed out that RKO and Paramount did not require extensive time to come up with divorcement and divestiture plans. UK Campaign (Continued from page 1) gan "Movies Are Better Than Ever to be supplied free to exhibitors. Much of the discussion at the meet ing revolved around the need to aim the campaign at theatre managers, wh are called "the ultimate salesmen of pictures." Publicity executives an trade press representatives on the Trading Post" (This Is America-RKO Pathe) The story of Chicago's Merchandise Mart, a 20th Century trading post, is told in customary documentary fashion in "Trading Post," which opens with the endorsement of Eric Johnston, president of the Motion Picture Association of America. The history of the famous buyers' and sellers' trading post is traced, going back to early pioneer days. The inner workings of the Mart, a city in itself, is shown in detail. In the growth of the Mart, the editors of the subject see a parallel to the growth and progress of the nation itself. Running time, 15 minutes. Kans.-Mo. Meet (Continued from page 1) Norton, C. E. Bratton, Jay Wooten and A. W. Pugh, all for Kansas ; Ray Cook, Howard Larsen, Virgil Harbinson, J. T. Ghosen and Silver, representing Missouri. A group meeting on buying and booking for drive-in operators drew a large attendance. Another group meeting for small-town and subsequent-run theatres discussed various problems. Abram F. Myers, Allied States counsel, attended both group meetings, answering questions from area exhibitors on legal aspects of various trade practices, and on anti-trust questions. A Zenith film on Phonevision was a special feature at the noon luncheon at which many exchange men were present. Trueman Rembusch, Allied States, president, followed the presentation of the picture with a talk in which he minimized the danger of Phonevision to theatres, quoting from the Motion Picture Herald of April 15, which he said every exhibitor should read, and from a statement by Myers on April 28. committee were instructed to draw up an Anglicized version of the 20th Century-Fox "Showman's Guide" for distribution to managers. In addition, speaking tours to provincial centers to address managers' groups personally were authorized.