Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1954)

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\ OL. 76. NO. Ill NEW YORK, U.S.A., FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1954 Toll-TV Seminar Exhibitors May Have Stage Ally In TV Dispute stage Play Producers Wary About Phonevision By LESTER DINOFF Motion picture exhibitors fighting subscription television may have an unexpected ally in legitimate stage producers and theatre owners who expressed skepticism at a Zenith Radio Corp. seminar on Phonevision held here yesterday at Sardi's Restaurant at the invitation of the National Theatre Arts Council. The legitimate stage producers and theatre owners met and discussed the merits of Phonevision and subscriber television generally with Zenith representatives Pieter Van Beek, executive assistant to the Zenith president, Ted Leitzell, public relations director for the company, and Dr. Millard F a u g h t , economic consultant to Zenith. Skeptical and showing little enthusiasm about Phonevision and its ability (Continued on page 17) EFFG Moves Step Forward on Stock Theatre Owners of America's sponsored Exhibitors Film Financial Group, Inc., has moved a step forward in its plans to sell stock, it was disclosed here yesterday by Herman Levy, general counsel of TOA. Levy announced that the necessary papers seeking permission of the Securities and Exchange Commission to market stock had been signed at an EFFG board of directors meeting, held in Memphis last Tuesday. Attending the meeting, Levy said, were EFFG directors Alfred Starr, E. D. Martin, and E. H. Rowley. Grainger Praises RKO Sales Results LOS ANGELES, Dec. 9. — Sales personnel attending the opening day of the first of RKO's four regional sales meetings were told here today by J. R. Grainger, president of RKO Radio Pictures, that he was "particularly happy with their enthusiasm and the results they have achieved during the year." The two-day meeting opened this morning with a screening of Howard (Continued on page 17) Rep. Stock Spurts On TV Film Report Sources close to Republic Pictures ascribed exceptional activity in the company's stock this week to new reports that more of the company's old film library will be sold to television. Official sources ridiculed another report that H. J. Yates, president, was negotiating for sale of his controlling stock interest. Trading in Republic common on the New York Stock Exchange involved more than 90,000 shares in the past three days for a total gain of more than a point. Closing price yesterday was 6^4, high for 1954. 'U' Drive Set For Feldman HOI-^LYWOOD, Dec. 9.— Stressing the theme that "big" pictures are those which can make "big" profits. Universal Pictures will launch a 17 weeks "Charles J. Feldman annual drive" on Jan. 3, and continuing through April 30, it was announced b y Alfred E. D_af¥, e.xecutive vicepresident at today's sessions of the company's current week-long sales conference novi' being held at the UniversalInternational studios here. The announcement of the Feldman (Continued on page 17) Alfred Daff Exhibitors' Campaign ASKS REJECTION OF TOLL TV BID Retain Counsel to Prepare Petition to FCC Opposing Zenith's 'No Hearing' Request By MURRAY HOROWITZ The Federal Communications Commission will be asked to turn down the Zenith su1)scription television petition in a brief to be prepared for the joint committee on toll TV, it was announced here yesterday by Trueman T. Rembusch, co-chairman of the joint committee. Rembusch 's announcement was made _ following a two-day meet of the joint group which mapped a multipronged program to fight all toll TV systems, including Zenith's, which seeks to use the "free" airways. The committee, Rembusch declared, "has no objection to toll TV if (it) will compete on the same basis as theatre TV, "using the same coaxial cable facilities as theatre TV utilizes." In this regard, Rembusch said he had no objection to the Telemeter test in Palm Springs, Calif., the experiment which did utilize coaxial cable facilities into individual homes. The joint group does take strong exception, Rembusch continued, to toll TV seeking a "preferred economic position" through the use of the airways, putting theatres in an "economical untenable position." Herman Levy, Theatre Owners of (Continued on page 3) Distributors In Arbitration Meeting Today At a meeting to be conducted by Eric Johnston, president of the Motion Picture Association of America, the proposed industry arbitration system will be discussed here today by company presidents, sales managers and counsels. At a subsequent trade press conference, Johnston will report on the arbitration session and his Far Eastern trip from which he returned last night. It is expected that the executives will study the (Continued on page 17) 1 Eric Johnston Pre-Christmas Project Merchants Reopen House As Shoppers^ 'Baby Sitter special to THE DAILY OKLAHOMA CITY, Dec. 9.— The Oklahoma City Downtown Retailers Ass'n is paying a ilat fee to the temporarily shut down Harber Theatre here to remain open from 10 A.M. to 8:30 P.M. from Dec 18 through 24 as a depository for infants whose mothers otherwise would have difiiculty doing their Christmas shopping. The theatre's full staff, augmented by special employes, will be retained for the week to care for the moppets and the reopened house. A continu ous, two-hour program of Westerns, cartoons and other film fare suitable for juveniles, with a change every day to encourage "repeats," will be offered without charge, the cost to be absorbed in the flat fee paid by the mer( Continued on page 17) Schine Witnesses Out of Courtroom special to THE DAILY BUFFALO, Dec. 9. — Federal Court trial of Schine Theatres, Inc., and associates, defendants on charges of criminal and civil contempt of court opened today before Judge John Knight. The charges are based on the defendants alleged failure to follow the courts' order of June 24, 1949, to divest certain theatres and make firstrun films available to competitors. At the outset, the judge ordered the (Continued on page 17) Paramount to Offer VV Product Short HOLLYWOOD, Dec. 9. — "Paramount Presents VistaVision," a 20minute product presentation, will be made available free to the nation's theatres early in January, A. W. Schwalberg, president of Paramount Film Distributing Corp., announced here today. The featurette was filmed at the (Continued on page 17)