Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1951)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY Accurate Concise and Impartial VOL. 69. NO. 89 NEW YORK, U.S.A., TUESDAY, MAY 8, 1951 TEN CENTS Lurie Here to Close Deal With Warners Syndicate Drafts Offer; Negotiations on Today With the arrival here yesterday of Louis R. Lurie of San Francisco, the deal for purchase of the entire stockholdings of the three Warner brothers and their families in the company they founded entered its closing stage. Associates of Lurie's in the syndicate which has offered $15 a share for the Warners' estimated 25 per cent interest in the company, representing a purchase price in excess of $25,000,000, were closeted with him in an all-day meeting yesterday. The joint meetings with the three Warner brothers and their attorneys are scheduled to begin today. A spokesman for the syndicate said (Continued on page 6) Take UA Plan to Branch Offices United Artists branch managers will review the company sales convention in their respective 32 branch offices, utilizing a full day to acquaint bookers and salesmen with the product lineup and the sales policy laid down for each picture, it was announced here yesterday by William J. Heineman, sales vice-president. Last week's Chicago sales meet, UA's first in five years, covered the entire sales program of its current release schedule, and introduced the sales organization to a combined chart of both its own and its recently acquired Eagle Lion Classics product. The sales meet wound up with divi (Continued on page 6) Name E. R. Slocum Head of TOO Board Oklahoma City, May 7. — E. R. Slocum, of Rocket Theatre, Elreno, today was appointed chairman of the board of Theatre Owners of Oklahoma at a board of directors meeting at the Variety Club room here. J. C. Hunter, retiring chairman, and also regional vice-president of the Theatre Owners of America reported on the recent TOA executive meetingheld in Washington, D. C. (Continued on page 6) Special Promotion For Paramount^ Six-Month Lineup Paramount's product lineup for the second half of 1951 will be highlighted for exhibitors and the moviegoing public through a specially designed advertising campaign that will continue until all the pictures are well into release, according to Jerry Pickman, national director of advertising publicity exploitation. Scheduled to appear at regularly spaced intervals, the ads that make up this campaign will announce the pictures for a given month, indicate salient selling angles of approaching releases and report the box-office performance of those already in release, it was said. Keyed to the theme "More-BiggerBetter Pictures," the campaign was launched May 1 with a four-page ad detailing the 15 important features to (Continued on page 5) Invite 1,500 to Schwalberg Dinner Friends and associates of A. W. Schwalberg will honor the Paramount Film Distributing Corp. president with a testimonial dinner on May 15 at the Hotel Waldorf-Astoria, New York in recognition of his contribution to the industry during his 30 years of service. Louis Nizer will serve as toastmaster, and Robert J. O'Donnell, vicepresident of Interstate Circuit will be master of ceremonies, according to E. K. O'Shea, chairman of the testi( Continued on page 5) NPA CHANGES AID, HURT THEATRES U.S. Gives 20th-Fox 15-Day Extension Washington, May 7. — The Justice Department has agreed to another postponement, until May 25— in the deadline for 20th CenturyFox to file a divorcement plan with the New York Statutory Court. The extension, which will probably be submitted to the court for approval tomorrow, is designed to give the parties additional time to work out final provisions of a consent decree. The present deadl'ne is Wednesday. UPT Reported to Be Interested in Two ABC-TV Outlets The trade heard reports yesterday that United Paramount Theatres may acquire television stations WJZTV, New York, and KECA-TV, Los Angeles, from Columbia Broadcasting System in the event the latter's negotions for a takeover of American Broadcasting Co. are consummated. Leonard Goldenson, UPT president, said he could not comment on the reports because he has "no idea what (Continued on page 5) 'Red' Aim to Control Films Missed Mark, Senator Says Asks Bigger Role for Industry in Defense Washington, May 7. — A. Julian Brylawski, representing Theatre Owners of America and Council of Motion Picture Organizations, today sharply criticized the Civilian Defense Administration for not giving the film industry a greater role in the civil defense program. He spoke during a meeting here of 250 national organizations with CDA officials. Brylawski specifically mentioned the stress on radio and tele (Continued on page 6) Washington, May 7. — Though the Communist high command made _ a definite drive to control motion pictures, "that drive failed," Senator Edward Martin (R., Pa.) is telling radio audiences throughout Pennsylvania this week. Martin is discussing the Hollywood hearings in his weekly record for use by Pennsylvania radio stations. The vast majority of Hollywood workers have always been "decent, patriotic and anti-Communist," he declares. Martin dwells at length on the Hollywood strike, and points out that "in order to smuggle the Communist message into pictures, the party needed (Continued on page 6) Makers of Equipment Similarly Affected by Complicated Situation Washington, May 7. — The whole situation over the government's construction controls on theatres has been immeasurably complicated as a result of changes announced over the week-end. In most instances, National Production Authority officials state, theatre owners and equipment firms will be helped by the changes. In one or two instances, they might be hurt. The order was issued late Friday, and it wasn't until today that NPA officials were available to clear up confusing points in the order. One change clearly will be of some slight benefit — a broadening of the terms "commence construction" so that projects can be finished if no more was done before the date of the (Continued on page 5) Rembusch Assails Distributors at Meet Minneapolis, May 7. — Distributors were charged by Trueman T. Rembusch, Allied States Association president, at the opening session today of the North Central Allied annual convention with conducting a "well-organized plan to gouge the last dollar out of exhibition through the use of 'scale' deals which take the cream from box office revenues." He said the way for theatres to stave off bankruptcy is by combatting the evils of distribution through such exhibitor organization plans as caravans and film clinics. Rembusch also (Continued on page 4) See Congress Barring Rent Control Bid Washington, May 7. — Strong indication that Congress will reject the Administration's demand for authority to control commercial rents came from the Senate Banking Committee today. Opening hearings on a bill to extend and enlarge the Defense Production Act, Chairman Maybank (D., S. C.) announced that the Committee had voted not to take testimony on (Continued on page 4)