Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1954)

VOL. 76. No. 117 NEW YORK, U.S.A., MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1954 TEN CENTS EDIT ORl A L . Fair Warning on Gov't. Regulation Sherwin Kane PROPONENTS of Federal regulation of the industry — even those exhibitors who may be inclined to support it out of desperation born of current operating frustrations confronting the small theatre, in particular — must have been given plenty to think about in the reply last week of Sen. Andrew Schoeppel, chairman of the Senate Small Business subcommittee, to representations made by Albert Hanson, chairman of the trade relations committee of Southern California Theatre Owners Association. Schoeppel observed that if he were an exhibitor he "would think a long time before I would urge government regulation of my business." He would not want the government to tell him, he said, what admission price he could charge, what return he could get on his investment, nor have schedules drawn up telling him what pictures he could play, for how long and when. Nor would government regulation solve a product shortage, Schoeppel warned. Motion Picture Daily's recent poll of national exhibitor opinion on the proposal for Federal regulation of the industry indicated that there were about two exhibitors in five in desperate enough straits to opine that if trade relief was not forthcoming soon for their operations, they would favor a move in the direction of Federal regulation. Their attitude appeared to be: What do we have to lose? Senator Schoeppel's letter (Continued on page 2) Counter Zenith Theatres' Toll TV Group in FCC Petition From THE DAILY Bureau WASHINGTON, Dec. 19. — The exhibitors' joint committee on toll-TV told the Federal Communication Commission over the week-end that it was opposed to subscriber television and asked the FCC not to act on Zenith's petition for immediate authorization of the service until the joint committee has filed its comments with the Commission. In a letter written by Marcus Cohn, joint committee counsel, the Commission was told that the toll-TV committee was preparing a reply to the {Contimied on page 4) Kassler Tells Product Plan A distribution plan whereby exhibitors may participate financially in the distribution of product was unveiled at the weekend by Frank Kassler, president of Continental Distributors, Inc., and Walter Readc, Jr., president of Walter Reade Theatres, who is associated with Kassler in Continental. The plan is designed to insure greater and preferred playing time for producers of specialized films and to assure a flow of product for exhibitors. Under the plan, an exhibitor in a particular territory would put up an amount of money in a ratio to the dis(Confinued on page 4) Gov't Weighs 16mm. Action MAY NAME ALLIED CO-CONSPIRATOR Department of Justice Considers Adding Other Industry Organizations to Suit Also From THE DAILY Bureau WASHINGTON, Dec. 19. — The Justice Department is considering naming Allied States Association a co-conspirator in the 16mm. anti-trust suit seeking the unrestricted sale of 16mni. films to television, it was learned here at the weekend AB-PT Decree Change Made From THE DAILY Bureau WASHINGTON, Dec. 19. — The Justice Department has agreed to modify the conditions under which the voting trust established in the Paramount consent decree is to be wound up early next year. It is expected that a court order making the changes will be entered early this week PriCC tO DrOD 40% Under the Paramount decree, all (Continued on page 4) SupCrSCOpC LCHS From THE DAILY Bureau HOLLYWOOD. Dec. 19. — The price of Superscope anamorphic lenses will be I educed more than 40 per cent Jan. 3, and distribution will be on a direct factory-to-exhibitor basis thereafter, co-inventors Joseph and Irving Tushinsky announced on Friday. In their announcement Tushinsky said ; "We are dropping the price of the (Contimied on page 4) McConville, Kastner Head Columbia Int'l Joseph A. McConville, president of Columbia Pictures International Corp. since the company's founding, has been elected chairman of the board of directors of that organization, with Lacy Kastner, Columbia International vicepresident and managing director for (Continued on. page 4) A Justice Department spokesman, questioned on the report, confirmed that the matter is under consideration, adding that the naming of other unidentified organizations also is being examined. He stated, however, that the decision most likely will be made by the Federal Attorney in Los Angeles in charge of the case, rather than by the Attorney General's office here. Currently, it was learned, discussion of the matter is being carried on between the Justice Department here and the Federal Attorney's office in (Continued on page 4) S'fV3€iBy A^ddJVenv Theatres Sa^^wt By J. A. OTTEN WASHINGTON, Dec. 19. — The Justice Department has agreed to another extension of the Stanley Warner divestiture deadline and a modification of some divestiture conditions. It is expected this will wind up Stanley Warner's divestiture and will clear the way for the chain to seek government permission to start acciuiring new theatres. The chain has been barred from ac quiring new theatres until it completes its divestiture. The new extension, which will be put before the, court early this week, will relax the original Warner consent decree and permit Stanley Warner to retain certain properties which have proven difficult to get rid of and still be considered as having fulfilled its divestiture program and therefore become eligible for new theatre acquisitions. By Jan. 4, 1955. the present divesti ture deadline, Stanley Warner will still have only four of the 57 theatres it was originally to have disposed of, according to Justice officials. Three of these involve long-term leases on unprofitable theatre operations and the chain will be allowed to keep these providing certain conditions are met. The company will have an additional six months to sell or lease the fourth. This last case involves the Orpheum (Continued on page 4) HAROLD HECHT presents' GARY COOPER ★ BURT LANCASTE "VERH CRUZ AOVfRTISED \H Wi DEC. 79 ISSUE OF This Week JA TEgHNlcOLQga more than 23,500,000 readers to see!