Motion Picture Daily (Jul-Sep 1951)

FIRST IN FILM NEWS MOTION PICTURE DAILY Accurate Concise and Impartial VOL. 69. NO. 127 NEW YORK, U. S. A., MONDAY, JULY 2, 1951 TEN CENTS Republic Lists 62 Features For New Year 20th is Set on ISSUE INDICTMENT 34 of its 36 '51-52 Films Overall Total Is Eight Over Present Season Republic Pictures at the weekend was committed to an overall program of 62 features and four serials in 1951-52, by Herbert J. Yates, company president. Yates listed 34 features, 16 Western features and \2 Western revivals. This compares with an overall total of 54 features for the current season, consisting of 32 features and 22 Westerns, with no feature revivals. James R. Grainger, sales vice-president, will hold a series of four regional sales meetings to discuss_ the program and promotion campaigns. {Continued on page 4) VS. CHI. DRIVE-INS Herbert Yates Billboard Program scores, 20th Says So large is the demand said to be for the gratis 24-sheets offered by 20th Century-Fox to exhibitors who will contract for billboard space that the home office has set up a special unit to handle exhibitors' inquiries. The company reported at the weekend that more "than 100 exhibitors have inquired concerning the offer since it was announced at the Los Angeles sales convention. The offer was made as part of 20thFox's "Greater Showmanship" drive. Ross Will Handle W. J. Clark's Duties Philadelphia, July 1.— William J. Clark, executive vice-president of National Film Service, is taking a leave of absence because of illness and during his leave his duties will be assumed by Chester M. Ross, an executive of Bonded Film Storage, New York, it was disclosed here at the weekend by James P. Clark, president of National. Ross is an executive committee member of National Film Service. Twentieth Century-Fox is set on 34 of its 36 releases for 1951-52 and expects to have about 18 of them finished by Dec. 1. The breakdown indicates seven musicals, nine comedies or comedy-dramas, nine romances, five outdoor attractions, one historical theme, one spy story, two mysteries, two war dramas and one biographical theme. A minimum of 14 of these will be in color. Already reported has been the detail on a portion of the projected program, but additional detail now available reveals this : Susan Hayward will star in ''A Song in My Heart," based on the life of Jane Froman. Rory Calhoun, David Wayne and Thelma Ritter will be co.tarred. Lamar Trotti will produce {Continued on page 4) MGM UA Product Negotiations 'Cold' Negotiations looking toward a sale of six completed M-G-M films to United Artists are 'cold, a statement from the former company made clear at the weekend. "As there have been rumors and queries to the effect that M-G-M is planning to sell to United Artists for distribution a series of films produced at the M-G-M studios, the officials of M-G-M find it necessary to make an {Continued on page 2) $35,000 to 'U Sales Staff Universal Pictures has sent $35,000 in cash to 116 district, branch and office managers, salesmen and bookers as their share of the prizes in the recently concluded, record breaking "Charles J. Feldman Sales Drive." Twenty-nine of the company's 31 branches in the U. S. finished over quota in the 17-week drive. The Southern division, headed by F. J. A. McCarthy, Southern and Canadian sales manager, took first place among the divisions. The district headed by Henry H. Martin and including Dallas, Kansas City, New Orleans, Oklahoma City and St. Louis was the top district. Martin took {Continued on page 4) Accuse Essaness, Five Other Corporations, of Fixing Admission Prices 16 New Members in Picture Pioneers The admissions committee of the Motion Picture Pioneers has approved 16 applications of membership in the veteran" industry organization. Applicants wi 11 be "inducted at the MPP annual dinner in November. The admissions committee consists of William J. Heineman, Herman Robbins, Marvin Kirsch and Jack Cohn. The 16 new members are: Albert Beck, Harry M. Bernstein, G. Ralph {Continued on page 4) Washington, July 1. — Indication that the Justice Department may be ready to take a closer look at operations of independent theatres was contained in an announcement here over the week-end of a Chicago Federal grand jury indictment of six drive-in corporations and two individuals, on charges of fixing admis-sion prices to their theatres in violation of the anti-trust laws. The grand jury indictment alleges that on March 9 the defendants, which operate driveins in Chicago and surrounding suburbs, held a meeting at which they agreed upon the admission price each theatre would charge and agreed to refrain from charging a group admission price based on a fixed charge per automobile. Named as defendants in the indictment are : Essaness Theatres Corp. of Chicago ; Starlite Drive-in, Inc., of {Continued on page 2) DuMont Gives CBS Color 'Two Years' Expect ISP A to Overhaul Installation Exemptions Washington, July 1. — The National Production Authority is about to overhaul its $2,000 exemption for installation costs of personal property, equipment and fixtures, limiting the provision to installation of personal property. This means that installation costs of items that can be classed as fixtures or equipment — such as radiators, plumbing or electric lighting fixtures — can no longer come out of the $2,000 exemption but rather must come out of the $5,000 annual exemption for all other construction work. The change will probably be announced tomorrow or Tuesday. When this change is put through, {Continued on page 4) 'Frogmen' Big at Roxy; $15,000 Bow The Roxy Theatre here is having its biggest opening week in 1951, except for the Danny Kaye personal appearance, with the world premiere of 20th Century-Fox's "The Frogmen," according to A. J. Balaban, the theatre's executive director. The opening day is reported to have grossed $15,000, despite the fact that the entire mezzanine was reserved for guests at the premiere. The CBS color television system was called an "interim system" which would last not more than one or two years by Allen B. DuMont, president of DuMont Laboratories, at a meeting of stockholders held on Friday at Clifton, N. J. At the same time, DuMont warned that development and widespread manufacture of other types of color TV tubes is still several years away. DuMont announced that the com {Continued on page 4) Hendel to Assist Danz with Circuit Seattle, July 1. — James Hendel, former West Coast division manager for Eagle-Lion Classics, has joined the Sterling Theatre Circuit in Washington, as assistant to Fredric A. Danz, general manager. Hendel started in the motion picture business as a salesman in Cleveland for United Artists and was made branch manager of that exchange. He joined Eagle-Lion in 1945 as manager of the Pittsburgh branch.