Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1952)

6 MOTION PICTURE DAILY Tuesday, March 25, 1952 Arbitration {Continued from page 1) Allied general counsel, serving as counsel. Alitchell Wolfson, TOA president; S. H. Fabian, TOA arbitration committee chairman, and Herman M. Levy, general counsel, will be the two delegates and counsel from the TOA, Gael Sullivan, the organization's executive director, indicated here yesterday. The ITOA will have as delegates Harry Brandt, president, and Max A. Cohen, it was announced by the organization. Notifications of appointments by the Metropolitan Motion Picture Theatres Association and Western Theatre Owners are expected momentarily. Johnston's invitation indicated that the arbitration conference would be held in New York within 30 days of last Friday. An exact date was not set as of yesterday. It is expected that H. V. (Rotus) Harvey, WTO president, will designate himself as one of that organization's two delegates, and that Edward Rugofif, MMPTA president, will be one of the MMPTA's delegates, since the other three organizations' presidents will be on hand. Three company attorneys will serve as counsel to the distributors' committee at the conference. Leon Back Heads (Continued from page 1) Leventhal, William C. Allen, Stanley Baker, Frank A. Hornig, Jr., Jack L. Whittle, J. Robert Gruver, Milton Schwaber, Joseph C. Grant and Edward F. Perotka. Session for Teachers Junior and senior high school teachers who are participating in the inservice course of 15 meetings co-sponsored by the Board of Education and the Motion Picture Industry of New York will devote today's meeting to a discussion of the Stanley Kramer production, "My Six Convicts." Fly to fun and relaxation on a cation in the Sun Country You're only hours away, by TWA, from Phoenix, Las Vegas, Southern California. Big savings with TWA's Family HalfFare Plan and Sky Tourist flights. See your travel agent or call TWA. r»4Mf WOniD AlPUftlS U.S.A. • EUROPf • AFRICA • ASIA Tornadoes Closed Many Theatres, Damaged Marquees, Halted Prints Memphis, March 24 — The tornadoes which tore through sections of Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri and Kentucky, leaving 214 dead, a thousand injured and millions in property damages, closed many theaters temporarily because of power lines being down. Wind damage to marquees and some theatre buildings was marked. Some theatres were left without film when highway patrolmen blocked off roads to disaster areas for the use only by Red Cross rescue workers, ambulances and National Guard units. Trucks carrying film to Judsonia, Arkansas, were turned back by the highway patrolmen. Reports said only a Methodist church escaped undamaged in Judsonia and it was turned into a hospital for the injured. Loew's Divorce Plan {Continued from page 1) 912,000, compared with other profits of $18,666,000. In 1947, theatre profits amounted to $12,784,000 and other profits to $6,120,000. In 1948, theatres accounted for $12,472,000 profit, while other Loew's operations resulted in a loss of $4,101,000. The following year theatre profits amounted to $12,583,000, while other operations lost $1,795,000. In 1950, non-theatre operations returned to the black, showing a profit of $2,712,000, compared with theatre profit of $9,896,000, and last year non-theatre operations again forged ahead of theatre operations, $7,243,000 to $6,944,000. Equal for 10-Year Period For the 10-year period the profits between the theatre and non-theatre operations were almost equal — $100,978,000 for the former, and $100,859,000 for the latter. The statement reveals that slightly more than 10 per cent of Loew's feature film rentals came from its own theatres, approximately 140 of them, in the three years 1949 through 1951. Film rentals in 1949, including sales of accessories, amounted to $98,393,794, of which $9,916,000 came from wholly owned Loew's theatres and $2,361,000 from partly owned subsidiaries. In 1950, rentals aggregated $102,824,820, of which Loew's wholly owned theatres contributed $9,248,000 and partly owned, $2,092,000. Last year, rentals were $106,991,762, and Loew's wholly owned theatres paid $8,817,000, and partly owned subsidiaries, $1,498,000. The theatre figures include foreign operations and in those instances also include charges for shorts, newsreels, etc. The distribution receipts also include the following from foreign operations: 1949, $33,927,399; 1950, $37,130,841 ; 1951, $39,757,772. Total domestic and foreign theatre receipts were: 1949, $50,600,958; 1950, $46,497,366; 1951, $43,620,331, representing a decree of $7,000,000 in theatre receipts in the three year period. The company notes that pro forma balance sheets giving effect to the separate operations of production-distrilmtion and the new theatre company cannot be ascertained with any degree of accuracy at this time, because the divorcement is not required to be completed before Feb. 6, 1954, and distribution of the new stock from one to three years thereafter. The plan is the first in the industry to achieve divorcement by the formation of one instead of two new companies, as was done in the cases of Paramount and RKO. Loew's will continue in existence and a new theatre company will be formed to which the domestic and Canadian theatre assets will be assigned and which will assume its share of the funded debt and certain other liabilities of Loew's. The latter will reduce its capitalization to a probable 3,000,000 shares of authorized common, compared with the present 6,000,000 shares. It is contemplated that the new theatre company also will have 3,000,000 shares of authorized stock. Loew's stockholders will receive one-half share in both companies for each share of Loew's stock held. Officers, directors, agents and certain employes of the companies will be required to dispose of their stock in the company with which they are not associated within six months after the stock distribution date. The company states it has been advised that the reorganization will be tax free. If the plan is not approved by the stockholders by June 6, next, the consent decree under which it was developed, becomes void and the government anti-trust suit against Loew's will be restored to the court docket without prejudice. Still Far in Future The name of the new theatre company, to be designated by Loew's, and the officers of the new and the continuing companies have not yet been decided upon, according to the proxy statement, because the effective date is still so far in the future. The statement notes that as of now, the new theatre company would have 143 theatres in the U. S., of which 20 are to be divested and 55 are subject to future product limitations or to contingent divestiture. Of 70 New Yor'K theatres, 54 are subject to the latter prospects. In addition to picture operations, Loew's will continue to own or have interests in radio stations, music publishing, phonograph record making and foreign theatre and film interests. Loew's Directors Up For Reelection The present 11 members of Loew's board of directors are proposed for reelection at the company's annual meeting of stockholders here April 29. They are: George A. Brownell, Leopold Friedman, F. Joseph Holleran, Tells NT Meet (Continued from page 1) only 42 per cent since 1940, whereas the value of the dollar has decreased 45j^ per cent in that period. The concensus of the roundtable discussion on this subject was that admission prices should not be cut. At the same time, he said, increasing admission for standout attractions, such as "Quo Vadis" and "David and Bathsheba," although well deserved and frequently advisable, should not be fixed policy. Taking up the divorcement and divestiture, Skouras said, "We shall follow to the letter the government's decree, without undertaking maneuvers of any kind." He pointed out that the circuit will have a new board of directors, and will have its stock listed on the market. John Bertero, in a question-answer period, explained the legal and market aspects of the divestiture procedure. The afternoon was given over to departmental meetings, with Ed Zabel, Thornton Sargent and R. H. McCullough presiding. Delegates will witness a Telemeter demonstration at the Telemeter factory tomorrow night. Reinhardt Coming Here Hollywood, Mach 24. — Gottfried Reinhardt heads for Broadway shortly in a search for new faces for "Equilibrium," one of the episodes in M-G-M's trilogy, "Story of Three Loves," which he will direct. Reinhardt has just completed "The Jealous Lover," also part of this tripledecker which Sidney A. Franklin is producing. Eugene W. Leake, C. C. Moskowitz, William A. Parker, William F. Rodgers, J. Robert Rubin, Nicholas M. Schenck, Joseph R. Vogel and Henry Rogers Winthrop. The company's proxy statement shows the following salary and other compensation paid for the 1951 fiscal year : Friedman, $130,357 plus retirement benefits; Leake, $25,100; E. J. Mannix, $159,036, plus $43,571 compensation based on profits, plus retirement benefits ; L. B. Mayer, $156,429, plus $143,571 compensation based on profits ; Moskowitz, $156,429, plus retirement benefits ; Rodgers, $114,714, plus retirement benefits and funds in escrow ; Rubin, $104,286, plus $76,612 compensation based on profits, plus retirement benefits ; Schenck, $130,357, plus compensation based on profits, plus retirement benefits, and Vogel, $156,429, plus retirement benefits. EDITING ROOMS MODERNoAIR CONDITIONED" MOVIOLA EQUIPPED<>3S-l6m/m ^£^7>t/5:DAY*WEEK°U)NGER TERMS Ruby Editorial Service 729-7-=ave.at49-st 0-5-5640 TO BE SURE OF BEST QUALITY and QUICK SIRVIU MADE-TO ORDER TRAILERS /FILMACK , lOO 5, ill. NEW YORK It, N. Y. I h»a7B.Wab«ili * MO Nliith I