Motion Picture Daily (Jul-Sep 1951)

4 Motion Picture Daily Friday, July 13, 1951 UKRemittance (Continued from page 1) E. Pa. Exhibitors Tell Lichtman — And Vice Versa 20th Meet representative, who also is a member of the American negotiating team, was delayed in his return here from Madrid today when the plane on which he was a passenger developed mechanical trouble. However, he is expected to arrive here tonight. He had engaged in talks with Spanish government officials on a new American film import agreement. The talks will be resumed in Madrid later by Allport and John G. McCarthy, MPAA vice-president, who also is here for the remittance negotiations. William B. Levy of SIMPP completes the American negotiating group. Indications are that the American industry representatives will ask for full convertibility of their future film earnings in Britain. This will possibly be refused in view of the pessimistic Treasury predictions of Britain's dollar balances for the last half of the year, given to Commons recently. Thereafter, the Americans presumably will seek more liberal treatment for their blocked sterling than now prevails. Members of the American group said they wished to emphasize that they are here to negotiate only the kind of agreement that will be completely and mutually acceptable to Britons and Americans for future motion picture business throughout the world. Tomorrow's conversations with Sir Hartley Shawcross, president of the Board of Trade, Rupert Somervell and Sidney Golt of the Treasury, comprising the British negotiators, are described by both sides as informal only. However, it is expected they will at least make the pattern clear for a definitive agreement. British officials expressed disappointment that Eric Johnston, on leave from the MPAA to serve as Amer ica's Economic Stabilization Adminis trator, will not be here for the con ferences, expressing the view that Johnston is the most agreeable nego tiator they have hitherto encountered. Johnston participated in the negotiation of the two earlier remittance agreements. The present one expires next Oct. 1. A basic agreement has until next June to run. Philadelphia, July 12.— The future well-being of the industry and the security of its members call for cooperation rather than attacks and internal warfare, Al Lichtman, 20th Century-Fox director of distribution, told a gathering of approximately 100 independent exhibitors of this area, meeting at the Hotel Broadmoor here yesterday at the invitation of Eastern Pennsylvania Allied. On June 5 the area exhibitors had voted 20th-Fox the most unpopular distribution company and yesterday they leveled charges of alleged arbitrary treatment of independent exhibitors against the company's Philadelphia branch. 'Blind Leading Blind' :'Today we are like the blind leading the blind," Lichtman said. "We would share profits to help others, but the best companies in this business are not making sufficient profits and are worrying whether they can make dividends. Spyros P. Skouras and I have made seven trips to the studio to cut costs there and have not been very successful. Our efforts have been opposed by writers, actors, producers and even competitors. "We must have unity, not attacks on one company. You should be grate ful that the companies are able to exist. If you keep on abusing them, you won't have them. They will consider selling out to television. Already they are faced with lawsuits totalling $278,000,000 which, if collected, will ruin all of them." Larry Woodin, Wellsboro exhibitor countered what he termed Lichtman's "threats" with the declaration that 20th-Fox should be grateful exhibitors are able to remain in business. He added that there would be no lawsuits if distributors treated exhibitors fairly (Continued from page 1) and asserted that his understanding, as a 20th-Fox stockholder, of company profits differed from Lichtman's. He also complained that 20th-Fox's_ exploitation and cooperative advertising were for first-runs only. Lichtman denied he had made any threats and said company policy is to match exhibitors dollar for dollar in advertising. Harold Cohen, Lewistown, pointed to changes in 20thFox's use of sliding scale terms and then its elimination. Lichtman said the changes had been made without his knowledge and the sliding scale would be reinstated on the basis of honest accounting. Harold Kleinman, Philadelphia, reported that local exhibitors are conferring now on business building campaigns. Lichtman commended the effort. Sam Diamond, 20th-Fox branch manager here, said he had never refused a justifiable request for adjustments. He was backed by Arthur Silverstone, Eastern sales manager, who accompanied Lichtman here. The latter said branch autonomy would be continued. Sidney Samuelson, sponsor of the meeting, which was presided over by Jack Greenberg and Edward B. Gregory, complained that most of his complaints had gone unanswered. Lichtman said he had proposed a program of industry improvement to Trueman Rembusch, Allied States president, that consisted of develop ment of a single, national _ exhibitor organization and one distributor or ganization; a joint conciliation board; improvement of public relations ; better pictures and a policy for harnessing or using television. Disney Appeal (Continued from page 1) Grainger Says (Continued from page 1) 'Jubilee' (Continued from page 1) ommendations was not revealed, although it was understood that their committee approved in principle the general outline of an advertising-publicity-exploitation program for the proposed drive which the advertisingpublicity group, under the chairmanship of S. Barrett McCormick of RKO Radio, devised last Tuesday. Al Schwalberg, Paramount distri bution vice-president, presided at yes terday's sales managers meeting in the absence of Ben Kalmenson, committee chairman. Present at the conference was Arthur L. Mayer, COMPO executive vice-president, whose recent prediction that the future of COMPO will rest on the outcome of the jubilee drive is understood to have sparked the activities of those who are determined to see COMPO continue. yesterday, Gunther Lessing, vicepresident and general counsel of Disney, said : "We instituted an injunction proceeding because of our honest conviction that the contemporaneous release and exhibition of two pictures with the same title would inevitably lead to confusion in the public mind. "The Federal District Court has refused our application but we still believe that deception and confusion will result. For that reason we have decided to take an appeal to the Circuit Court of Appeals so that the whole record may be reviewed as promptly as possible. "Surveys indicate that to an unprecedented degree, the American public is looking forward to seeing Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland'. "It is obvious that countless theatre-goers intending to see Walt Disney's 'Alice in Wonderland' will be led into the wrong theatre when they see the same title on another marquee. They will have paid their admission at the box office and they will not know that they are seeing the wrong picture until they get inside. "We are confident that the Circuit Court of Appeals will take action to prevent this confusion and deception." The Bunin puppet version of "Alice" is scheduled to open here at Brandt's Mayfair and Trans-Lux theatres July 26. with Robert Ryan, based on the Kefauver Senate Crime Committee disclosures, and the second is "The Korean Story" which will deal with the critical time in the Korean conflict when the United Nations forces were all but pushed off the peninsula at Pusan. The Army and Air Force has already approved the idea for the latter production and within the next few weeks shooting of exteriors will be started in Korea, with other footage to be taken at Camp Carson in Colorado Springs. Other projected films by Grainger are "The Day They Gave Babies Away," from a Cosmopolitan Magazine story, to be released about Christmas and starring Bobby Driscoll: "Blackbeard the Pirate," in Technicolor, to be produced in Britain — a special company being formed for the purpose; and a spy story, "African Intrigue," also in Technicolor, to be filmed in Africa and possibly starring John Wayne. Grainger said that there is a new spirit of activity and industry prevailing in Hollywood and everyone now has his "shoulder to the wheel." Television is competition, he added, but it also is stimulating for renewed vigor on the part of all sections of the industry. "I think it is healthy," he said, "producers and directors are all trying to turn out top product." clave will be plans for the release of "Decision Before Dawn," "People Will Talk" and "No Highway in the Sky." "Decision Before Dawn" is slated for release in December, with nationwide tours by Anatole Litvak, producer-director, and Frank McCarthy, co-producer, to presell the film to the public. 'People Will Talk' "People Will Talk," which was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, will go out to theatres in September, backed by a campaign similar to that given "All About Eve." "No Highway in the Sky," which stars James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich, will be released this month, with special handling planned. Attending the conference, which will be held under the aegis of Lichtman, will be Arthur Silverstone, Eastern sales manager ; Edwin W. _ Aaron, Western sales manager ; Martin Moskowitz, Empire State division manager; E. X. Callahan, Atlantic division manager; R. E. Moon, Central division; Peter Myers, Canadian division ; M. A. Levy, Midwest ; H. G. Ballance, Southern, and Herman Wobber, Western division manager. Setting plans for the remainder of the year's releases, the following six Technicolor features will be included in the line-up between August and December. The Line-up Darryl F. Zanuck's production of "David and Bathsheba," starring Gregory Peck and Susan Hayward, directed by Henry King; "Meet Me After the Show," starring Betty Grable and McDonald Carey, directed by Richard Sale ; "Friendly Island," starring William Lundigan, Jane Greer, Mitzi Gaynor, David Wayne and Gloria De Haven, directed by Edmund Goulding ; "Anne of the Indies," starring Louis Jourdan, Debra Paget and Jean Peters, directed by Jacques Tourneur ; "Man of Two Worlds," starring Tyrone Power, Ann Blyth and Michael Rennie, directed by Roy Baker ; "Golden Girl," starring Mitzi Gaynor, Dale Robertson and Dennis Day, directed by Lloyd Bacon. All-Industry Meet (Continued from page 1) "united front" approach by the accord apparently being worked out between NETTC and Allied on what frequencies to seek. It is believed the rest of the industry can largely agree with this position. The idea would be that Allied would support NETTC and the rest of the industry in asking for frequencies above the present UHF broadcasting band, with the understanding that if it later becomes apparent that the FCC is ready to force telecasters out of the VHF band that NETTC and MPAA and the other groups will then support Allied in seeking the VHF frequencies for large-screen television. U.S. Sues B. P. Schulberg Hollywood, July 12. — The government has filed a Federal court suit against B. P. Schulberg, producer, for $146,260, representing income tax judgment obtained in 1946, plus interest. U. S. attorney Paul Magasin said no payment has been made on the judgment.