Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1951)

2 Motion Picture Daily Tuesday, October 2, 1951 8 Theatre TV Sets For Denver Area Denver, Oct. 1. — Eight theatre large screen video units to be installed by National Theatre Supply have been contracted for in this area. They are the Broadway and Victory in Denver; the Cober, Ft. Morgan, Colo., a United Enterprises house, and four Westland Theatres houses Set Expansion for New Film-TV Show A deal for the national distribution of the television show, "What's Playing-" currently is being concluded, Emanuel Demby, president of the Demby Co., producer of the show, declared here. The show, seen three times a week over WJZ-TV, features scenes and trailers from motion pictures. Each telecast shows portions of a new picture, to help first-run houses, and a picture in release to help the neighborhood houses. The clips are supplied by the distributors in return for the free "plug" on the air. At present Demby's "mutual cooperation deal" is with United Artists, Columbia, Monogram and Republic. He currently is discussing similar arrangements with 20th Century-Fox, Universal-International and Paramount. Demby believes the program "is going to open the road to re-educating TV viewers to the scope, quality and excellence of motion pictures as seen in the theatre." The programs feature Maggi McNellis as narrator. Efforts are made to introduce showmanship into all programs. Exhibitor in Okla. Bids for TV License Washington, Oct. 1.— No early action is foreseen by the Federal Communications Commission on the application by an Oklahoma City group which includes H. S. Griffing of Video Independent Theatres, the former Griffith Circuit, for authorization to establish a television station there. Griffing, secretary of V.I.T., holds a 30 per cent interest in the petitioners' company, other officers and directors of interest being oilmen and industrialists. It is the first group in the area with theatre connections to apply for a television license. United Artists Gets Fuller's First Film "Park Row," screen story of the birth and growth of American journalism on the famed earlier New York newspaper street, marking Samuel Fuller's first independent production under his own banner, has been acquired for release by United Artists, president Arthur Krim reports. Fuller is scheduled to put the picture before cameras in December. Personal Mention ARTHUR SILVERSTONE, 20th Century-Fox Eastern sales manager, will be in Boston today and tomorrow and will go to Chicago from there. Harry Goldstein, Monogram Eastern exploitation representative, is in Hollywood from New York for conferences with John C. Flinn, advertising-publicity director. • Maurice N. Wolf, field assistant to H. M. Richey, M-G-M exhibitor relations head, will speak before the Morristown, N. J., Lion's Club, Oct. 9. • Vincent Trotta, judge of the Miss Universe contest, will leave here tomorrow for Bermuda by plane. JUDY WAHN, publicity representative here for Herbert Wilcox Productions, will leave London for New York by plane today after attending the London and Edinburgh premieres of Wilcox's "Lady with a Lamp." • Marvin Elkoff of Motion Picture Daily's editorial staff, and Mrs. Elkoff became parents of their first child, a daughter, at the weekend. William Liesner, Cleveland salesman for Columbia, has been transferred to Buffalo. • William B. Zoellner, head of M-G-M's short subjects and newsreel sales, has returned to his desk here following a short illness. U. S. Tax Bill (Continued from page 1) religious, educational or charitable group. Both bills would base the tax on reduced price tickets on the price actually charged, rather than — as at present — on the full established prices. Passes would be tax-free under both measures. Since this provision is identical in both bills, it cannot he changed in conference, and is as good as law. The House voted to exempt raw stock and other film and photographic equipment used by the film industry from the present excise taxes. The Senate rejected this provision. Its bill would merely cut the rate on photographic apparatus from the present 25 per cent to 15 per cent; it would leave the 15 per cent rate on film unchanged. Nov. 1 is the likeliest date for the excise changes. House Agreement Seen The House is expected to agree to the Senate's proposed corporate income tax rate increases — from the present 25 per cent to 27 per cent on the first $25,000 of income, and from the present 47 per cent to 52 per cent on the rest. The House bill would boost the rates to 30 per cent and 52 per cent, respectively. The tax increases will be retroactive to either April 1 or Jan. 1, 1951. The Senate bill would also put a lower ceiling than would the House bill on the amount of a firm's income which the government can take in taxes. The Senate ceilings would range from 32 per cent for small, new firms on up to 69 per cent for the largest. The House ceiling would be a flat 70 per cent for all firms. The present ceiling is 62 per cent. The Senate i ejected the House provision to cut the excess profits tax credit from 85 per cent of the earnings in tlie best three of the four 1946-49 years to 75 per cent. Instead, it voted new excess profit tax relief provisions for growing firms, television broadcasters and many other groups. A final provision of interest to the industry is the House proposal to New York Grosses (Continued from page 1) the Roxy. "A Millionaire for Christy," plus Josephine Baker on stage will open at the house on Thursday. "David and Bathsheba" still is getting its share of customers at the Rivoli where the seventh stanza is seen racking up around $40,000, a nice figure. Radio City Music Hall on Thursday will get a new tenant, "An American in Paris," following the third and final week of "Captain Horatio Hornblower" and an accompanying stage show, which is due to chalk up $115,000 for the stanza. "Groom" Satisfactory The second week of "Here Comes the Groom" is due to give the Astor a satisfactory $27,000, while the third week of "Saturday's Hero" at the Victoria slipped to a so-so $14,000. "The Whistle at Eaton Falls" is scheduled to take over at the latter house on Oct. 10. Around $9,000 is seen for the fifth and final week of "Rhubarb" at the Globe where "Journey Into Light" will open tomorrow. On the basis of reported S.R.O. business over the weekend for "The Magic Face" at the Criterion, the initial week, ending Friday, is expected to rack up a neat $19,000. "Flying Leathernecks," plus Louis Prima's band on stage, is going strong in a second week at the Paramount, with around $70,000 indicated. About $33,000 is seen for the fifth week of "A Place in the Sun" at the Capitol. "Tales of Hoffman" remains a consistent grosser, with a good $11,000 expected for a 2'6th week at the Bijou. Only $5,600 was recorded for the fourth week of "The Medium" at the Sutton, where J. Arthur Rank's "The Browning Version" has been booked but not dated. deny multiple tax exemptions and credits to commonly-controlled firms. Exhibitors opposed this, and it was cut out by the Senate. The Senate has already named its five conferees — Democratic Senators George of Georgia, Connally of Texas and Johnson of Colorado and Republicans Millikin of Colorado and Taft of Ohio. Del Mar Race Track Bought by Mayer Hollywood, Oct. 1. — Joseph Schenck has announced the sale of his controlling interest in Del Mar Race Track to Louis B. Mayer and turf enthusiasts associated with the latter, in order to devote his full time to "my primary interest in motion pictures." 2nd TV Experiment Planned by CDA Washington, Oct. 1. — The Federal Civil Defense Administration will stage a second experiment with theatre television as a training medium shortly, probably sometime in Nov. They said they definitely planned to make further use of theatre TV "if theatre television facilities are available and we can afford it." CDA officials will meet in New York this week with theatre spokesmen to discuss the matter further, it was reported. The government wants to know how many theatres will be available, how much, if anything the government will be charged to use them, what cable costs will run to. "Right now the thing looks awfully good," one CDA spokesman said. "We like it and hope to use it a lot. We plan to have a second show, probably in November, and instead of having general training stuff, we'll concentrate on one particular training item. After we see how that goes and get some dope on costs, we'll know just how far we can go with the plan." Wood to 'Movietime* Post New Orleans, Oct. 1. — Gar Wood, publicity and public relations man here, has been appointed head of "Movietime in Dixie, U. S. A." advance publicity-advertising for the newspaper and radio regional business campaigns in Louisiana. H. G. Plitt of Paramounnt, Gulf Theatres has charge of Mississippi. NEW YORK THEATRES RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL Rockefeller Center GREGORY PECK VIRGINIA MAYO "CAPTAIN HORATIO HORNBLOWER" Color by TECHNICOLOR A Warner Bros. Picture plus Spectacular STAGE PRESENTATION ■OWilO HUWMS JOHN ROBERT WAYNE • RYAN MOTION PICTURE DAILY. Martin Quigley, Editor-in-Chief anrl Publisher; Sherwin Kane, Editor; Terry Rarasaye, Consulting Editor. Published daily, except Saturdays. Sundays and holidays, by Quigley Publishing Company, Inc., 1270 Sixth Avenue, Rockefeller Center, New York 20, N. Y. Telephone Circle 7-3100. Cable address: "Quigpubco, New York." Martin Quigley, President; Red Kann, Vice-President; Martin Quigley, Jr., Vice-President; Theo J. Sullivan, Vice-President and Treasurer; Raymond Levy, Vice-President; Leo J. Brady, Secretary; James P. Cunningham, News Editor; Herbert V. Fecke, Advertising Manager; Gus H. Fausel, Production Manager. Hollywood Bureau, Yucca-Vine Building, William R. Weaver, Editor. Chicago Bureau, 120 South LaSalle Street, Urben Farley, Advertising Representative, FI 6-3074. Washington, J. A. Otten, National Press Club, Washington, D. C. London Bureau, 4 Golden Sq., London WT; Hope Burnup, Manager; Peter Burnup, Editor; cable address, "Quigpubco, London." 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