Motion Picture Daily (Jul-Sep 1954)

FIRST : NEWa MOTION PICTURE ▲ ILY VOL. 76. NO. 7 NEW YORK, U.S.A., MONDAY, JULY 12, 1954 TEN CENTS Tradewise . By SHERWIN KANE WHETHER or not his own procedure is the right one, there is much to commend in Albert Greene's general idea of refusing to take New York City's five per cent admissions tax lying down. Greene, operator of the Avenue U Theatre in Brooklyn, prepared chrome-plated pennies to provide his patrons for payment of the tax. He also provided a huge medicine bottle labeled the "Wagner Tax Bottle," and directed his patrons to drop their pennies into the bottle which he said he will deliver to Mayor Wagner on Aug. I. • A sign near the boxoffice told the patrons their pennies "will help pay the salaries for these juicy patronage plums" at City Hall. He then reproduced newspaper stories of recent appointments by Mayor Wagner of politically connected individuals to non-essential but well-paying city jobs. The point, of course, being that the Mayor said he had to have the five per cent admission tax in order to balance the record new city budget. "Would you have us economize on the schools, the police, the unemployed, the hospitals?" the Mayor had asked opponents of the tax. Greene, whatever else he is doing, is giving the Mayor an answer to that one. If enough theatres did the same or something similar, the city administration could be made so weary of the tax it would very likely hasten its end. Why should the tax be a nuisance only to exhibitors and patrons of entertainment? Why shouldn't it, above all else, be made a nuisance to the politicians responsible for it? IRVING MACK'S Rimack Trailer I Co. in Chicago is 35 years old this month. To observe Irving greeting, and being greeted by, (Continued on page 2) MAKELIM CLAIMS 1,700 DEALS Approximately 1,700 theatres have signed to play the product to be produced under the Hal Makelim plan, initiated by Allied States Association, Makelim said here at the weekend. The deals, he said, represent about $2,000,000 in guaranteed playdates. Meanwhile, Harry C. Arthur, Jr., chairman of the Southern California Theatre Owners Association, has sent a letter to the SCTOA membership, stating that the organization's board of directors had decided unanimously to "approve and sponsor" the 12 pictures which Makelim plans to produce shortly. The SCTOA, at a special meeting called for July 20, will hear Makelim present his plan personally. Continuing his tour of the country to present his project to exhibitors, Makelim will meet with showmen today in Charlotte, on Wednesday in Atlanta, on Friday in Chicago and on Saturday in Milwaukee. Makelim, Gell Talk U.K. Distribution, Co-Production Deals Preliminary talks which may lead to the distribution in England of the 12 pictures planned by Hal Makelim were held here at the weekend by Makelim and William Gell, head of Monarch Pictures of London. At the same time, they discussed plans for a co-production deal for three pictures to be made in England. Makelim said that the three British pictures would be separate and apart from the program to be made in Hollywood. Makelim will supply the stars and directors and participate in the financing, he said. If a deal should be concluded for the distribution of the 12-picture program in England, it will be an out(Contiiiued on page 5) Clearance Question Involved in Another High Court Appeal WASHINGTON, July 11. — The Supreme Court has been asked to review another lower court decision involving the extent to which the government's Paramount decrees can be used by theatre owners to help win their private anti-trust suits against the distributors. _ The decision also involves the question of whether clearances growing out of a conspiracy must be held illegal, even if reasonable. F. E. Harrison, owner of the Bryn Mawr Theatre in suburban Philadelphia, on Friday appealed to the high court a decision of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals throwing out his anti-trust suit against eight major dis(Continued on page 5) NO 'HURRY-UP' JOB PREDICTED IN MAPPING ARBITRATION DRAFT Members of the joint distribution-exhibition subcommittee which was set up to draft an arbitration formula are not planning a "hurry-up" job, it was indicated at the weekend following an exploratory meeting of the' group However, the joint committee expects " to waste no time in mapping out a preliminary draft and will undertake to tackle the project officially today. Another session will be held tomorrow, with succeeding meetings scheduled as are deemed necessary. A committee spokesman said that while the group has a blueprint from which to work, meaning the 1952 drafts that were prepared by distributor and exhibitor segments, there was still considerable work to be done in re-phrasing, adding to and deleting from the provisions of those documents. One prediction was that a tentative draft might be ready for submission to the full arbitration committee by mid-August. The "sub-committee" will discuss seven specific proposals: clearances, runs, conditioning, contract violations, print shortage, competitive bidding and pre-release of pictures. Disagreement may develop, it is understood, over the legal terminolog-y covering each point, as both sides will be relying on their respective lawyers. Representing exhibition will be Herman Levy, counsel for the Theatre Owners of America; Si Fabian, Max A. Cohen and Leo Brecher. Counterparts of the exhibition team will be Adolph Schimel, general counsel of Universal Pictures, with Al Lichtman, A. W. Schwalberg and A. Montague. On the sidelines will be Charles Feldman who is an alternate representative on sales managers team. Lawyers Sai/ 5% Tax Could Be Halted By An Injunction Meanwhile, Show Cause Hearing Off to Thursday Attorneys for the City of New York were granted a delay at the weekend until Thursday at which time they must appear in Supreme Court to "show cause" why a temporary injunction should not be granted "restraining and enjoining them from enforcing the provisions of the city five per cent amusement tax." A spokesman for Edward C. Raftery, attorney for the plaintiffs, said that Stanley Bucksbaum, assistant corporation counsel, contacted Raftery after the "show cause" order had been filed, and requested a postponement was agreed to by Raftder to prepare a case. The postonement was agreed to by Raftery, but the city must present its case on Thursday or the temporary injunction will be invoked, according to exhibitor counsel. The order was signed by Supreme Court Justice Nicholas M. Pette, after an action instituted by five Queens theatres. The suit was filed against the City of New York, the Mayor, the Comptroller and the Treasurer, "to have the New York City Admissions Tax Law," in effect since July 1, "declared unconstitutional, illegal, invalid and void" and for an "injunction restraining and enjoining them from enforcing the provisions thereof." The newly scheduled hearing will (Contimied oii, page 5) Reopen Guatemala to American Pictures Member companies of the Motion Picture Export Association will resume film shipments to Guatemala, the MPEA announced at the weekend, following the overthrow of the proCommunist government in that country which imposed a 20 per cent excise tax on gross rentals on top of a previously imposed 15 per cent amusement tax. The MPEA stated that the board of directors of the association has already agreed to reopen Guatemala to American films on a limited basis. Full-scale resumption of shipments {Continued on page 5),