Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1955)

6 Motion Picture Daily Friday, January 7, 1955 Seek Toll-TV Hearings {Continued front page 1) Ohio Censors (Continued from page 1) Horace Adams, Cleveland, and Martin Smith, Toledo. The plaintiffs had sought to obtain an injunction against the board in the court of Judge Bartlett. Judge Nichols wrote the opinion in which he castigated Attorney General William O'Neill and Judge Bartlett for not keeping before them "more clearly the nature of their oaths to support, uphold and defend the U. S. Constitution and the state constitution." Cites Bill of Rights Nichols said if they had done so "1 am sure the decree would have been to the contrary and their fine talents not wasted in whittling away at these great charters of human liberty under which U. S. citizens have lived, prospered, been happy and secure in the rights and privileges guaranteed by the Bill of Rights." Nichols added "the guarantee of freedom of speech and press are couched in the unmistakable language that no law shall be passed abridging such guarantees. That language is not susceptible of interpretation that some laws having that effect may be passed while other laws may not be passed. Congress has passed no law which abridges the right to transmit films by television, although television has brought films into homes of millions although many of us are convinced some of such pictures have no educational, religious or humorous characteristics." New Law Being Written Robert Wile, ITOO secretary, said the decision means that the censor board cannot even censor films submitted voluntarily. Wile also said the decision will strengthen arguments of anti-censorship forces in combating any new censorship bills introduced in the Ohio legislature. The board is writing a new censor statute, expected to be introduced in the legislature next week. Hanson Gives Text Of Schoeppel Letter HOLLYWOOD, Jan. 6.— Asserting that Sen. Andrew F. Schoeppel's letter has never been received, Albert Hanson, chairman of the Southern California Theatre Owners Association's trade relations committee, today released the contents of his 2,000word letter to the chairman of the Senate Small Business Committee, dated Dec. 31, 1954. Hanson stated that he was releasing the text of his letter to Sen. Schoeppel because he never received the government official's letter and that his only information as to its contents had been gleaned from the trade press. Hanson's letter reads in part, "your charges as conveyed in trade press in reference to me are not true, and your own language would appear to be the best answer to your vitriolic attack upon me through trade papers. Certainly words used by you are those intended for consumption by persons not interested in facts, but in the smear of a person's reputation." Moving on to the attitude displayed by the senator in a letter released to the press last Dec. 15, Hanson wrote, "It is my belief that you have constantly and consistently exhibited an attitude of defense on behalf of de Joint Committee on Toll-TV in a statement prepared by the committee's Washington counsel, Cohn and Marks. The statement was in opposition to a petition by Zenith Radio Corp. and Teco, Inc., seeking immediate authorization of subscription television without public hearings. The exhibitors' statement said it would not at this time go into the arguments for or against subscription television, but would only argue against the plan for the commission to authorize the system immediately without public hearing. If the commission has any doubt that a public hearing should be held on the issue, the exhibitors' statement said, it should hold argument on the question. Admitting that a full-dress public hearing would take considerable time, the committee said this time element "becomes relatively insignificant when weighed against the tremendous social and economic upheaval which may follow the establishment of subscription television." The committee, which claims to represent about 75 per cent of the 16,000 U.S. theatres and an investment of some $2,000,000,000, reminded the FCC that Zenith had in the past sought authorization for experimenting with Phonevision specifically to get together information for use at public hearings on permanent authorization of the new system. The commission made these experimental authorizations, the statement continued, on the assumption that Zenith would participate in a fulldress public hearing, at which time all interested parties could present evidence and cross-examine the pronents. Zenith's new approach, the committee said, is "a flagrant flouting of one of the basic conditions upon which the commission had authorized the experimental operation." Moreover, the statement pointed out, the method by which Zenith now proposes to transmit subscription TV is "drastically different" from the method used in the experiments, so that the commission actually does not have before it today any information on this new system. The exhibitors warned the commission of a widespread public outcry if subscription TV is authorized. Many families, the statement de fendants in a government suit. You apparently do not regard defendants in the same light as the Supreme Court does. As you will remember, Justice Douglas stated arbitration is 'too potent a weapon to leave in hands of those whose proclivity to unlawful conduct has been so marked.' . . . My statements in the letter and report sent to you did not contain any halftruths, falsehoods or representations. They were based upon facts and certainly merited answer specifically and factually, and not by indirect vilification unbecoming a public official in answer to a sincere and earnest citizen asking only protection that the government properly through its processes may afford to its citizens in general." Hanson's letter re-stated the original SCTOA arguments offered in petitioning the Schoeppel committee for relief from SBC. clared, bought TV sets "upon the implied representation by the FCC as well as by the manufacturers that they would not have to pay anything for the programs they would see on their set, over and above the cost of the sets themselves." It emphasized that most TV sets are owned by people in the lower economic brackets. Statement Called 'Bait' Today's statement also challenged Zenith's claim that subscription TV would stimulate construction of new TV stations in present empty areas and would help out struggling ultrahigh-frequency stations. Zenith is just dangling this before the commission as a bait, the statement charged, adding" that once subscription TV is authorized, Zenith would do exactly what the television broadcasters have done : Establish service in the large cities and other markets where the economics could support the new system. Actually, the commission was told, this would make "the problem of the UHF area even more acute than it is today." McDonald Hits Theatre Groups Seeking Hearings on Toll-TV CHICAGO, Jan. 6.— Commdr. E. F. McDonald, Jr., president of Zenith Radio Corp., today charged that several groups of film theatre owners are attempting to delay the coming of subscription TV, because they know it will be a competitor capable of delivering new motion pictures and other boxoffice entertainment to the public more efficiently and much more economically than is now possible. McDonald had reference to the opposition filed today with the Federal Communications Commission by six groups of film theatre owners, opposing Zenith's request for immediate authorization of subscription TV, and requesting full blown hearings on the subj ect. McDonald's remarks were addressed to a national convention of Zenith wholesale distributors at the Shoreland Hotel. McDonald declared that a number of motion picture theatre owners have already applied to Zenith for franchises to operate Phonevision in their localities, when and if it is approved by the FCC. To Mull Anti-Toll TV Contributions Theatre Owners of America's financial participation in the fight against toll television will be one of the subjects of today's meeting of TO A officials on the subscription TV question, E. D. Martin, TOA president, disclosed here yesterday. Attending the luncheon meeting will be Martin, Walter Reade, Jr., former TOA president ; Herman Levy, TOA general counsel, and Leonard Goldenson, president of American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres. Martin, asked what Goldenson's position on the issue is, replied that he would find out at today's meeting. Goldenson serves in the dual capacity of being in charge of a company engaged in exhibition and owning a television network. TOA, along with Allied States Association, is a member of the joint exhibitors committee on toll TV. Zukor (Continued from page 1) not a market for low-budgeted pictures in the current market, Zukor cited the experience of Paramount. "We have reached the conclusion from the last couple of years" that the "safest investment" for the theatres as well as the studio is to produce a picture with a good story, a top cast and director, "regardless of cost." It's a "question of economics," the industry pioneer continued, adding that if a picture doesn't appeal to the public, it will not pay off at the box-office. Pictures which do not have the proper story, cast and directorial ingredients, do not attract enough of an audience to make them "worthwhile," he declared, citing the "waste" involved for the producer as well as the theatre. "The industry as a whole," he held, "has not curtailed the number of pictures for any other reason except to carefully cull story material and talent" so that quality pictures, with their attendant drawing power, will be available. Speaking for Paramount, Zukor said "we are making an effort to make as many pictures as we can of the kind that will win the public's favor," regardless of cost. Asked for a business forecast for 1955 for Paramount, Zukor declined, explaining that "I don't make predictions on the drawing power of pictures until I first see how the public responds." He termed 1954, though, a very good year for Paramount, adding that the company has a comparable quality product line-up for this year. He expressed hope that by the end of 1955 or the beginning of 1956, Cecil B. DeMille's "Ten Commandments," to be released by Paramount, would be available, forecasting that it will be "the finest and biggest production ever screened." Recalls 1950 Prediction Regarding business forecasts, Zukor volunteered the observation during the interview that two years ago on the occasion of the celebration of his 50th year in the industry he predicted "a greater future and prosperity in the coming 50 years" than he experienced in the last half-century. "All signs today indicate that my prediction was well founded," Zukor remarked. Asked about VistaVision, Paramount's system, Zukor maintained that it permits a producer to make pictures that cover a lot of ground, offering the screen depth, width and height. "You couldn't produce pictures as well, not nearly as well, in any other system," he contended. In Plea for Equipment Asked whether he had any special birthday message to give the industry, < Zukor replied "if exhibitors will maintain their equipment so that they can do justice to the advances in photography . . . they will reap the full benefits of all that's been put into pictures. Pictures alone cannot do it unless presented with equal care to the public," he concluded. Fox Meet Today A delegation of home office sales and advertising executives will join with domestic and Canadian division managers at a two-day sales meeting convening this morning at the 20th Century-Fox home office.