Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1951)

4 MOTION PICTURE DAILY Monday, March 5, 1951 Dipson (Continued from page 1) Review theatres in distributing their films, were not monopolizing or restra'ning trade, nor were the other distributors in favoring the Loew's-Paramount theatres. He said that each distributor had individually decided it would be to their business advantage to prevent such competition. In appealing the case, Dipson revealed it was drastically cutting down the amount of damages sought, dropping claims for over $4,500,000. As it now stands, Dipson seeks only $170,000 damages, trebled to $510,000, for injury claimed to the Century and Bailey theatres while Dipson actually operated them. It has dropped the $4,500,000 trebled damages originally sought for the loss of the leases on the Century and Riviera and another $75,000 claimed for injury to the Ridge Theatre in Lackawanna. The Dipson brief, prepared in large part by former Justice Department trust attorney Robert L. Wright, said that Knight's conclusions as to the legality of the distributors' conduct "are the exact opposite of those reached in the Paramount case. The Buffalo pool was there dissolved and the conduct found legal here was enjoined there." It also argued that Knight's finding that Dipson had not been damaged because the amount was speculative "were in conflict with the Jackson Park case." Dipson has asked the Appeals Court to hold that Knight was wrong in making three basic holdings : That two major film distributors can exclude all theatres in a city other than those in which they have a joint interest from licensing their films for first and second-run exhibition ; that other major distributors can lawfully give all of their product to the theatres owned by the two majors; and that a theatre operator who sustains injury by not being able to get profitable films cannot recover damages unless he can prove exactly the amount of his loss. 'Republic Week' for Yates in Britain London, March 4. — Herbert J. Yates, president of Republic Pictures, who came here a week ago from New York to preside at the opening of Republic House, new United Kingdom headquarters for the company, has concluded a week of activities at which he was at one time or another the host or honor guest, during "Republic Week" in the trade. On Tuesday, Yates gave a luncheon to David Jack Goodlatte and C. J. Latta of the ABC circuit, attended by Richard Altschuler, president of Republic International, New York. "Inside Straight" Republic Salaries (Continued from page 1) (Metro-G aldwyti -Mayer) THE adventures of a young man, determined to win a fortune for himself, are told in a dramatic and engrossing picture in "Inside Straight." With San Francisco in the latter part of the last century as the setting, the picture has good atmosphere, action and intensity, giving it a reliable commercial standing. David Brian heads an able cast that includes Arlene Dahl, Barry Sullivan, Mercedes McCambridge, Paula Raymond, Claude Jarman, Jr. and Lon Chaney. A bitter childhood experience burns into Brian's consciousness the power of money and so he sets out for power. One of his first steps along the upward climb is to shrewdly get possession of a hotel run by Miss McCambridge. Ruthless in his methods, Brian advances, steadily, plays the stock market cunningly, and in time achieves his riches. In the meantime he marries pretty Miss Dahl, who also is ruthlessly ambitious. After presenting him with a son, she gets a divorce when she finds him with another woman. Miss Dahl also makes the divorce a lucrative adventure for herself. Brian next marries Miss Raymond, the nurse of his son. Fortunes rise and fall for Brian, but somehow he is never really happy, and when Miss Raymond dies in childbirth, his native gloom deepens. The entire story is told in flashback at a moment when the city is stirred because of an impending failure of a bank run by Miss McCambridge. Little anecdotes are told by four persons in an effort to illuminate Brian's personality. Brian decides to gamble his fortune with Miss McCambridge for possession of the bank. There is a showdown hand of poker and Miss McCambridge wins. Brian never reveals his hand, leaving one to wonder whether he just allowed her to win. Chaney portrays a lifelong buddy of Brian's while Sullivan is a sometimes-friendly, sometimes-hostile friend. Jarman plays Brian in his youth. Richard Goldstone produced and Gerald Mayer directed, from the screenplay by Guy Trosper. Running time, 89 minutes. Adult audience classification. Release date, March 16. Mandel Herbstman executive vice-president, who received $78,315. Edward L. Walton, vicepresident, received $28,950, it was re ported. Yates' salary included $100,000 accrued remuneration for the fiscal year, ended Oct. 28, in accordance with an employment agreement dated March 1, 1946. That agreement was renewed last Oct. 19 for a five-year period. UA Board Elected ( Continued from page 1 ) thew Fox, member of the new management group ; Seymour Peyser, attorney for the new management group ; Mary Pickford, and Loyd Wright, attorney for Charles Chaplin. It is believed that the five voting trustees, plus three additional nominees of the management group and two of the stockholders, constitute the new board. William Heineman and Max E. Youngstein were elected vice-presidents and members of the board for the management group. Daniels in UA Pittsburgh Post Matthew Daniels has been named office manager of the United Artists Pittsburgh exchange, effective today, by Nat Nathanson, eastern Canadian sales manager. Daniels, who was promoted from UA's home office playdate department, replaces J. Patterson, resigned. Skouras Deposition ( Continued from page 1 ) 'UV Release Plans (Continued from page 1) sion of the company's third and final regional sales meeting at the Hotel Mark Hopkins, attened by John Davis, general manager of the J. Arthur Rank film interests. Leo Spitz, executive head of production; William Goetz, in charge of production ; Edward Muhl, vice-president and general manager of the studio, and David A. Lipton, vice-president in charge of advertising-publicity, will participate in the meetings from the studio. Lipton left New York for the Hollywood meetings over the weekend after conferences with home office executives on promotion plans on forthcoming U-I releases. Promote 20th's Lebworth M. J. Lebworth, formerly of the 20th Century-Fox home office exploitation staff, has been promoted to exploitation representative for the company's Empire State division. to do so by an individual distributor's sales policy. He was particularly opposed to the distribution practice of keeping successful bids secret. Skouras said that UATC houses have on numerous occasions lost pictures in bidding to independent competitors, as well as to Fox West Coast theatres and others. In reply to questions he said he had been told of such instances by a UATC film buyer and had counselled the official that if he wanted the picture and expected to gross that much he should have bid higher. The UATC president denied ever having discussed film terms or buying policies for Goldwyn or other pictures with his brother, Charles Skouras, or with any other defendant in the case, among whom are Michael Naify, R. A. McNeil and Roy Cooper. Asked if he had ever discussed with Charles a product allocation between UATC and Fox West Coast houses, George Skouras termed the question silly, pointing out they were bidding against each other. Box-Office Take (Continued from page 1) crease in the number of theatres or in theatre costs. General admission tax collections for Jan. 1951, reflecting business in Dec, 1950, totaled $26,865,033, slightly below the $27,909,723 reported in Jan., 1950, the Bureau also announced. Exhibitors have contended that the upturn in theatre business did not really get under way until early this year. The general admission figures include collections on admissions to sporting events, concerts and other entertainments, as well as to theatres, but do not include taxes on night club and roof garden bills nor on various seat leases, broker fees or overcharges. Total admission tax collections in Jan. 1951 were $30,287,977. Sportcaster Stern Get 8 Award Scroll Bill Stern, chosen best radio sports announcer in Motion Picture Daily's 1950 poll of radio editors, was presented with a scroll Friday night on his program, "The Colgate Sports Newsreel," over NBC. Stern has placed first in the publication's poll ever since 1940, the year the category was inaugurated. He is the only artist in any category to win each year since then. RCA Theatre TV (Continued from page 1) of theatre-goers wherever it has been used. "Moreover, it is on the market and available for installation right now. It is being offered by independent RCA theatre supply dealers in all television areas in the U. S., and the standardized picture tube and other electron tubes and components it employs are also readily available at this time." Kreuzer mentioned that the equipment is so designed that a minor adjustment will permit operation with higher picture definition if standards permitting such definition should be adopted for closed circuit theatre television. "RCA is continuing research in theatre television, looking toward future improvements as new knowledge of electronics and optics becomes applicable," he said. Kreuzer said that the RCA equipment is in use -in theatres in New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and a number of smaller cities and pointed to the recent closed-circuit telecast of a basketball game from Washington to Albany's Fabian Palace Theatre and the "Big 10" exclusive football theatre telecasts as examples of box-office success with the equipment. He added that through the use of an RCA -Model PT-100 in NBC's Center Theatre in New York, "about 10,000 New Yorkers each week are being introduced to theatre television." Kranze-ELC (Continued from page 1) sources will be announced by Kranze today at his first trade press conference in his new capacity as head of distribution. ELC described him as one of the youngest men ever to hold the top executive sales post of a major company. Kranze is 50 years old. He has been in the industry 30 years, having been associated with Paramount's Astoria Studios on Long Island in 1921. He later joined the same company's sales force at the New York exchange. Kranze joined RKO in 1930 as a salesman, becoming Albany branch manager in 1937, and Cleveland branch manager in 1941. In 1944 he was appointed Eastern Central district manager for RKO. He joined United World Picture in 1946 as Eastern division manager, later becoming assistant general sales manager for J. Arthur Rank here. In 1948 he was appointed vice-president in charge of sales of Film Classics and with its merger with Eagle Lion last year became general sales manager of ELC.