Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1951)

6 Motion Picture Daily Friday, November 2, 1951 Allied Meet Votes Arbitration (Continued from page 1) suit from such an exhibition-distribution meeting is debatable, for the fact that a number of distribution companies have gone on record as opposed to "all-inclusive" arbitration may spell conflict. TOA has for long championed arbitration. The trade practice problems cited for action in resolutions were "illegal fixing of admission prices" and "film rentals." As read by Charles Nil.es, convention resolutions committee chairman, the former carried this wording : Case of 'David' "It has been brought to the attention of this convention that 20th Century Fox Film Corp., in the case of 'David and Bathsheba', has been forcing the theatre to increase its admission prices as a condition for playing the picture. "The board of directors are requested through their general counsel (Abram F. Myers) to gather all available information on this violation by 20th Century Fox, of the law and of the court's decree, and to take such action thereon as is warranted by the facts. "It is recommended that the board also instruct its general counsel to take similar action whenever or wherever such violations of the law and of the decree by any other film company is called to their attention." The resolution on film rentals was worded thus : "During the current box office recession certain distributors are demanding a larger share of the dimin ishing 'box-office dollar by direct and indirect methods including : (a) insisting on percentage terms in situations formerly playing on a flat rental basis, (b) higher flat rentals and higher percentage terms, (c) refusal to adjust, and (d) raising the floor in sliding scales and lowering the ceiling on split figures." Action Recommended Action was recommended as follows : "(a) That film rental grievances which cannot be adjusted locally be forwarded through the regional association to the coordinator of the Allied Film Committee in New York (Wilbur Snaper) for presentation to the home offices. "(b) That the board of directors be urged to inaugurate and conduct a vigorous campaign for information and education through the use of trade paper advertising, organization bulletins and through the Allied Caravan, the purpose of which will be to alert all of the exhibitors of the United States to the dangers lurking in the enforced sales policies of the film companies as herein set forth." Subjects recommended for arbitration were : clearances and prints, competitive bidding, film rentals, forcing of pictures, illegal setting of admission prices, runs and "any other important problems affecting the operation of the motion picture industry." Mann, who earlier in the afternoon session criticized the convention for not having solved exhibitor problems, HELP WANTED! * H.A. was one of the industry's advertising-publicity greats. His ideas made fortunes for the stars and * producers he handled in long years of service . Recently, he was found starving, living on handouts. He died in a charity ward, friendless and a . pauper. * THIS MUST NOT HAPPEN AGAIN IN OUR INDUSTRY. ALWAYS THE FIRST TO HELP OTHERS, IT'S TIME TO ★ ★ ★ HELP OUR OWN. DO YOUR SHARE BY BUYING TICKETS TO ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ THE GREATEST ALL-STAR SHOW OF ALL TIME! Proceeds to The Foundation of Ihe Motion Picture Pioneer*, Tox deductible. Ticket! S5. to S25. available at Room 170 Hotel Astor // //I urged vehemently that the arbitration resolution be defeated. "How are you going to arbitrate when the distributors don't want to arbitrate?" he inquired of Niles. "Let's not arbitrate — let's use the services of our counsel and go to the Department of Justice," he declared. Sidney Samuelson of Philadelphia also opposed the arbitration resolution. Kirsch, in an address that charged distributors were impervious to theatre closings due to hardship, urged arbitration of "everything — film prices — everything." Perhaps, he said, bidding can be abolished thereby and "a split of product between competitors can be worked out." He said also that William F. Rodgers, M-G-M distribution vice-president who was present at the session, told him that "bidding can be suicide." H. A. Cole of Texas also spoke in favor of arbitration. "I've asked Abram Myers to tell the distributors to re-write the decree so we will know what to do. Neither we nor the distributors know what it's about," declared Kirsch. Then referring to the convention's achievements he said: "I've come a long way from Chicago and am satisfied that I've gotten my money's worth." Trueman T. Rembusch, Allied president, who conducted the session, had announced at its opening that in deference to time limitations he would limit each speaker to three minutes. He did not succeed for long in keeping that rule, although he tried valiantly. Joined Mann Another delegate who joined Mann in observing prior to the reading of the resolutions that "nothing constructive" had been accomplished by the convention was Harry Perlman of Philadelphia. Kirsch, who was chairman of the buyers and bidding clinic wherein the resolution on arbitration was conceived, said the clinic did not envisage an arbitration system under the "expensive" American Arbitration Association, but rather a panel consisting of an exhibitor representative, a distributor representative and a third member selected by the other two. He said the clinic foresaw the abolishment of "a lot of the industry's law suits" through such arbitration. Myers, who was called upon to clarify some doubts that were expressed over the feasibility of an arbitration system, also said the AAA was not envisaged as a part of it. He said frankly that he, as Allied's general counsel, favored an arbitration plan as outlined in the resolution. Myers also is Allied board chairman. Monogram, Republic, United Artists and Bing Crosby were condemned from the convention floor for selling films to television. One exhibitor complained that Monogram's "Dead End Kids" pictures played on TV before they were shown at his theatre, and that UA's "Red Stallion in the Rockies," a one-time Eagle Lion release, also gave him the same experience. Niles, Iowa-Nebraska Allied official, singled out Paramount as a trade practices offender in his remarks prefacing the reading of the resolutions. How ever, the film rentals resolution cited other companies also in indicting sales policies. "Some examples of these practices are the selling policies of Paramount on 'That's My Boy,' 'A Place in the Sun,' 'Here Comes the Groom' and possibly others," it read. Continuing : "Warners on 'Captain Horatio Hornblower,' 'A Streetcar Named Desire,' Metro on 'Showboat,' and RKO on 'Alice in Wonderland.' "Film rentals," it went on, "have now climbed to such an extent that together with the inescapable increase in overhead and operating costs, the inevitable results are shrinking profits and in many, many theatres losses where exhibitors are using up reserves and depleting their capital. The expressed justification for these inequitable demands in film rentals is the necessity for maintaining dividend payments to the stockholders while, at the same time, maintaining an extravagant scale of salaries to the upper echelon in the industry — a scale that is without equal in any other industry." Kirsch in the address he made prior to the resolutions reading had said : "I'm a stockholder ; if they don't get dividends, so what ! So there was no profit in distribution this year — so what ! Later on, after the theatres have been helped then pay the dividends." Ben Berger of Minneapolis delivered an attack on distributors who "insist on a 40 per cent top in small situations." He declared that the situation in that respect today was worse than it ever had been in the 32 years he has spent in the industry. O. F. Sullivan, chairman of the Allied "film clinic" on drive-ins, offered the convention a resolution calling for the abolition of distributor discrimination against drive-ins on the basis of the nature of their operation. The resolution called also for the pricing of product for drive-ins under a system which would take cognizance of yearlong operating overhead against six-toright months of actual operation. Distributor cooperation in eliminating excessive multiple day-and-date runs also was called for under the resolution. Moe Horowitz of Cleveland spoke against adoptions of the resolution by asserting that "Drive-ins should clean their own house before asking the convention to cooperate with them." He criticized drive-ins for "letting carloads of kids in free." Sullivan replied that drive-ins like regular theatres "have some indiscreet operators but that doesn't mean all drive-ins ar,e offenders." The resolution was passed by a comparatively close show-of-hands vote. Berger in his address suggested that the convention demand that the Allied board request Congress to pass a law "establishing an agency to have control over distribution." The convention neither discussed nor acted in any other way on the suggestion. Reception for Autry There will be a reception at the Museum of Modern Art here on Monday afternoon for Gene Autry, at which the cowboy star will present to the Museum's Film Library a print of his "Mule Train."