Motion Picture Daily (Jul-Sep 1950)

Do not remove: MOTION PICTURE DAILY VOL. 68. NC NEW YORK, U. S. A., FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1950 TEN CENTS RKO Will Buy Readers Stock In N. J. Chain $1,500,0 00 for 50% Share of 12 Theatres Walter Reade has agreed to sell to RKO his 25 per cent interest in Trenton-New Brunswick Theatres, thus ending protracted negotiations and litigation over severance of the joint interest in the circuit, it was announced yesterday by Reade and Ned E. Depinet, RKO president. The reported purchase price for the Reade interest is $1,500,000. The Trenton-New Brunswick company operates 12 theatres in the two New Jersey cities. RKO held 50 per cent of the company's stock, and with the acquisition of Reade's interest this is increased to 75 per cent. The Frank V. Storrs estate owns the other 25 per cent, which is not included in the deal. Under the New York statutory court {Continued on page 5) 50% of TV Co's Turn Down FCC Color TV Plan Washington, Sept. 28. — Companies accounting for almost half the nation's television output today rejected -in carefully hedged language — the Federal Communications Commission proposal that they start making their sets immediately with so-called Bracket Standards. Bracket Standards would permit set owners to pick up CBS color signals and black and white. The commission, in its color division on Sept. 1, said it liked the CBS {Continued on page 4) RD-DR Claims Loss In Censorship Case Washington, Sept. 28. — The producers of "Lost Boundaries" told the U. S. Supreme Court today that they were the only ones with legal standing to challenge the Atlanta censor board's banning of its production. The RD-DR Corp. (Readers Digest-De Rochement) filed an answer to a brief submitted recently by the (Continued on page 5) Canadian Showmen Not Singing the Blues; Their Grosses Set a Record Ottawa, Sept. 28. — The Canadian government reports from this Capital city that box-office returns of motion picture theatres in the sprawling Dominion reached an all-time high of $78,556,700, last year, compared with the previous high of $69,619,047 in 1948. The number of paid admissions was 238,414,900, compared with 222,616,788 in the previous year. The number of film houses across the Dominion increased from 1,917 to 2,201. While Famous Players' 200-odd theatres represent only about one-eleventh of the total operating, their part of the take was considerably greater because of their generally larger size and usually heavier populated locations. Martin, Lewis Team Chosen As Top 'Stars-of -Tomorrow' 'Skouras, D. of J. In Decree Talks Washington, Sept. 28.— Spyros Skouras, 20th CenturyFox president, and George Skouras, president of Skouras Theatres, New York, conferred here today with Deparament of Justice officials on theatre ownership problems involved in the consent decree being negotiated by the parent company in settlement of the government anti-trust suit. Charles Skouras, president of National Theartes, 20thFox subsidiary, had been engaged in similar conferences here for the preceding 10 days. Hollywood, Sept. 28. — Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, the former nightclub comedy team, swept into prominence by appearances in Hal Walks' two "My Friend Irma" pictures, jointly won the Number One spot in the 10th annual "Stars-of-Tomorrow'' poll conducted among America's exhibitors by the Motion Picture Herald. They are the first talent tandem ever to head the "Starsof-Tomorrow" list, and they are the first comics to be named among the "Top 10" in the eventful decade of the poll's operations. The combined vote of circuit and independent exhibitors picked the remaining nine of the Top 10 in the following order : William Holden, Arlene Dahl, Ruth Roman , VeraEllen, John Lund, William Lundigan, {Continued on page 5) Johnston Cites NCCJ As 1951 Campaign Is Mapped The work of the National Conference of Christians and Jews in extending human understanding was cited yesterday by Eric A. Johnston, national chairman of this year's "Brotherhood Week" campaign, as an important contribution to the strength of America in a time of world crisis. Johnston, a participant in a conference of American industrial leaders called by General Eisenhower to appraise American resources, absented himself from that meeting in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel here yesterday, long enough to address the amusement industry division of the NCCJ, gathered in a nearby room in the same (Continued on page 5) 4U' to Roll Out the Carpet for Ad Heads United Nations and film industry leaders, headed by Eric Johnston, president of the Motion Picture Association of America, and Benjamin Cohen of Chile, UN Assistant Secretary-General and information head, will join Universal-International executives at a luncheon at the "21" Club here on Friday, Oct. 6, in welcoming U-I advertising and publicity representatives from all over the (Continued on page 5) 20th-Fox Film Rentals Up 4.4%: Skouras See Increase Since July 1 Leading to 'Best Year' Twentieth Century-Fox film rentals showed an increase of 4.4 per cent in the 10 weeks following July 1, as compared with the corresponding period in 1949, 20th-Fox president Spyros P. Skouras reported to stockholders in an interim report made public yesterday. "It is hoped that by the end of the year domestic film rentals will surpass 1949, our best year to date," Skouras said. "Foreign film rentals will be slightly less than the preceding year, but only because of the devaluation of foreign currencies. "Theatre receipts are substantially below a year ago. A considerable part of the decline in our theatre receipts has been caused by the divesti (Continued on page 4) 20th To Continue To Produce Abroad, Says Darryl Zanuck Twentieth Century-Fox will continue its policy of producing abroad those films whose story or background needs cannot be met or recreated in Hollywood, Darry F. Zanuck, production vice-president, told the trade press here yesterday following his return from a two-month trip to England, France, Germany and Austria. With shooting on "Legion of the Damned" starting today in Munich and with "No Highway" underway in England, beginning last Monday, Za (Continued on page 5) Rugoff Is Elected MMPTA President Edward N. Rugoff yesterday was elected president of the Metropolitan Motion Picture Theatres Association at the organization's biennial meeting at the Hotel St. Moritz here. He will serve for the next two years. Rugoff succeeds Leo Brecher, who was elected board chairman at the meeting. The board chairmanship pre (Continued on page 5)