Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1950)

;sday. May 17, 1950 Motion Picture Daily 7 th-Fox Meet | Report Goldenson, Warner, Burrows in Film Stock Deals (Continued from page 1) home office screening room tor jckholders' session, some forced in the two projection booths hers in an adjacent room where jhones were installed so they hear what was going on. An ion to a screening of a new Fox film after the meeting was ~* to have been partly respon • •) the over-flow attendance. T5ras and Otto Koegel, chief ;1, presided over the meeting and d Henderson, treasurer, particito the extent of answering nus queries on the financial afi>f the company. Theatre Earnings Off iderson said that while the first■r profit showed a drop under •49 corresponding period, current igs are above those of this time ear. Theatre earnings are off 12 per cent, he added. Pointing e fluctuation in earnings from uarter to the next, Henderson :ed that film operations showed of $386,000 in the third quarter 49, whereas the fourth quarter ed in a profit of $2,442,000. ouras said "we confidently expect esults for the full year 1950 will a much more favorable compari,-ith 1949 than the first quarter •s would indicate." As reported here in this issue, 20th-Fox d $1,838,000 in the first 1950 br, compared with $3,017,000 in ?49 period. istrating the drop in theatre inHenderson said that this divipf the corporation netted $1,475,jin the first 1950 quarter, as st $2,130,000 for the like period 49. Quarter Shows Drop jm earnings for the first 1950 er amounted to $363,000, comwith $881,000 in the first 13 s of last year, ^cussing book value of the corion's assets, Skouras said that > properties are carried at about 00,000 but to replace these would more than $40,000,000. He said National Theatres were appraised 1 '8,000,000 last year, •mbers of the board who were ltd to serve until 1951 included: • lerman Adams, Robert L. Clark Wilfred J. Eadie, Daniel O. ings, Henderson, Robert Leh; William C. Michel, William P. ps, Seton Porter, Murray Silverand Skouras. rcted with Skouras, to serve as Its for the next year, were the wing : William C. Michel, execu vice-president ; Darryl F. Zanuck, president in charge of production ; ray Silverstone, vice-president ; tih H. Moskowitz, vice-president ; .ichtman, vice-president; Andrew ■ir.ith, Jr., vice-president in charge jomstic distribution; S. Charles ■;ld, vice-president in charge of rtising, publicity and exploitation ; dd A. Henderson, treasurer and tary ; Wilfred J. Eadie, comptrol ;tid assistant treasurer; Francis T. ', assistant treasurer ; Fred L. tier, assistant treasurer ; C. Ell McCartney, assistant comptrolJ. Harold Lang, assistant secreXorman B. Steinberg, assistant tary; George F. Wasson, Jr., asnt secretary ; and William Wer' assistant secretary. Washington, May 16. — Latest report of the Securities and Exchange Commission on trading by directors and officers in film company stocks disclosed that George D. Burrows bought 2,500 shares of Monogram common, boosting his holdings to 27,533 shares ; Frederick R. Ryan bought 300 shares of Republic Pictures Corp. common and 300 preferred, making a total of 800 common and 700 preferred shares owned by him, while Leonard H. Goldenson bought 800 common certificates of interest in United Paramount Theatres, making a total of 1,350 shares in his own name and 250 shares in his wife's. Joseph H. Seidelman sold 3,000 warrants for Universal Pictures common, dropping his holdings to 9,000 shares. Albert Warner gave away 1,000 his holdings to 437,800 shares in his own name and 21,000 in trust accounts. Jack L. Warner gave away 6,000 shares but bought another 6,000, leaving his holding's unchanged at 426,500 shares and 21,500 in trust accounts. Jay Emanuel bought 1,000 shares of Trans Lux common, making his holdings 9,000 shares. Jacob Starr bought 2,600 shares of the firm's common, making a total of 6,100 shares. James L. Brown reported he owned no stock in United Paramount when he became an officer last Dec. 22. T. A. Slack said he had no RKO stock when he became a director of the company March 1. John G. Eidell, who became a Universal director on March 8, held 7,000 shares of the company's common then, while Franklin Nevius held 100 shares when he Goldwyn Sues (Continued from page 1) shares of Warner common, dropping I became a director on March 29. Set Meet on Arbitration (Continued from page 1) legal department, Levy said. Columbia and Universal, heretofore opposed to the previous industry arbitration system, qualified their acceptances only with reference to cost, the TOA attorney reported. Cost, which Columbia and Universal indicated should not be too high under a new system, will be one of many points which an exploratory allindustry conference will have to clarify, Levy pointed out. He said virtually all segments of exhibition and distribution will be expected to join the conference. However, it is impossible for formal invitations to go out to Allied States and other exhibitor organizations at this time, since it has yet to be decided which branch of the industry will take the responsibility for calling the various segments together. Thus, Allied, whose board will meet in executive session next Monday and Tuesday in Memphis, would no doubt have to decide prior to its receiving an invitation whether it will send a representative to the arbitration parley. Urge All to Participate Levy and TOA executive director Gael Sullivan emphasized yesterday at a press interview which followed the two-day TOA executive committee meeting at the Hotel Astor, that TOA does not regard itself as having exclusive credit for the conference that will take place. They pointed out that arbitration is an industry matter, and one in which all factions of the industry should and must participate if there is to be any hope that the mounting burden of anti-trust litigation is to be reduced. The conference, in which Monogram and Eagle-Lion, too, will be represented, was envisaged by Levy as a "mass" gathering at some centrallylocated city. He said that, with the exception of film prices, "there is nothing that can't be arbitrated in the industry." If a plan were worked out at the gather'ng, the next step would be to present it to the Department of Justice for approval and then turn it over to the New York Statutory Court for inclusion in the final decree that has been handed down in the industry anti-trust suit. Sullivan said that pending the outcome of the arbitration conference, TOA will withhold plans regarding recommendations for a trade practices code, since the establishment of an industry-wide arbitration system would obviate the need for such a code. He said the TOA exhibitor-distributor relations committee, headed by Walter Reade, Jr., has practically completed its trade code proposals, but meanwhile will keep them in committee. Bidding New Field Levy contended that competitive bidding has opened a whole new area of "arbitrable matters," whereas clearances, the crux in the past of arbitration, appear to have diminished from an arbitrable standpoint in light of the industry anti-trust decree. Other matters disposed of by the executive committee at its two-day meeting were: (1) A vote that TOA shall renew its associate membership in the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. (2) TOA television specialists Nate Halpern and Robert J. O'Brien reported that two engineers, an attorney and a researcher will be employed to assist with the presentation of TOA's case in behalf of theatre television before the Federal Communications Commission, (3) at the suggestion of Reade, TOA will ask producers to supply "training films" for theatre employes, (4) the so-called "Trinz plan" whereby the public would nominate Academy Award winners, was "well received" by the executive group. Ted R. Gamble was appointed to approach producers with respect to the training film program, which, Sullivan said, took its inspiration originally from suggestions that came out of the 20th Century-Fox "Showmanship" meetings held across the country in March. Sherrill Corwin was to have presented a brief concerning the television competition situation on the Coast, but he withheld it pending disposal of other problems. Goldwyn Productions, Inc., by attorney Joseph L. Alioto, alleging violations of the Federal Sherman and Clayton Acts, also names R. A. McNeil and Michael A. Naify, San Francisco theatre operators, Fox West Coast Agency Corp., Golden States Theatre and Realty Corp., United California Theatres, Inc., T. and D. Jr. Enterprises, Inc., San Francisco Theatres, Inc., and Excelsior Amusement Co., Inc. The complaint alleges, in part, that the defendants : 1. Combined the "tremendous buying power," arising out of control of their theatres, to purchase films on a non-competitive and monopolistic basis. 2. Used a boycott threat against motion picture producers and distributors unless their terms were complied with and tried to influence competitors to refuse to bid on such films. Charges Monopoly 3. Influence, coerced and compelled producers and distributors to sell them motion pictures at lower prices. 4. Secured the "backbone product" for their theatres through monopolistic practices with the major distributors who also produce and exhibit motion pictures (Paramount, Warner, Loew's and RKO), through "cross-licensing agreements" with the defendants' FWC company, 20th Century-Fox^ 5. Stifled competition for buying films by denying competitors access to the market. 6. Forced competitive theatres out of business by threatening to build opposition theatres on adjacent locations ; by cutting admission prices for the purpose of eliminating such competition ; by securing more motion pictures than actually needed by them, in order to control competition. Claims Violations Since 1925 The complaint states that Fox West Coast operates 250 theatres in California and Arizona, and with other subsidiaries of National Theatres, operates 345. The five other circuit defendants operate in excess of 100 theatres in Northern California and Nevada, it was said. The complaint further alleges that the Sherman Act has been violated by the defendants since 1925. Basic damages asked for total $2,250,000, trebled under the Clayton Act for a total of $6,750,000. Goldwyn lists 28 pictures which he had produced, and says that "these pictures have been licensed under the monopoly and conspiracy heretofore alleged, but that "the license fees received for them were substantially lower than the fees that would have been received in a competitive market." Part of the relief asked would enjoin the defendants "from agreeing, combining, conspiring or contracting with each other or with any other person or corporation whatsoever to restrain, control or eliminate competition among themselves or wifch others, from restricting in any way and from agreeing on the prices, terms or conditions in the licensing and exhibition of motion pictures."