Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1955)

4 Motion Picture Daily Tuesday, January 18, 1955 News Roundup Leases Alpine Here A long-term lease on the Alpine Theatre, Broadway and Dyckman St. here, has been acquired by a corporation headed by Harry A. Harris who operates other theatres in the New York area. Deal was handled by Berk & Krumgold, theatre brokers Hawaiian Drive-in A new drive-in theatre is being built on the Hawaiian island of Maui by the Maui Amusement Co. A May opening is scheduled. Frisco Local Elects The new roster of officers of the exchanges Local F-17 in San Francisco consists of Ion (Babe) Baratte, 20th Century-Fox, president ; Jesse A. Wright, Warner Brothers, secretary ; Joseph Gannon, Warner Brothers, financial secretary ; Casper Kannel, RKO, sergeant-at-arms, and Jane Fritze, M-G-M, business agent. 8 A.M. Opening in Boston For the first time in its history, the Paramount Theatre in Boston will open at 8 A.M. for the run of "Gangbusters," which will have its world premiere Wednesday at the Paramount and Fenway. Okla. Tent Installs The Variety Club Tent No. 22 in Oklahoma City will hold a formal installation of officers and dinner dance at the Skirvin Tower Hotel on Jan. 26. George Hoover, international chief barker, will attend. Trust Suit Trial Ends The trial of the $576,000 anti-trust suit brought by William and Sidney Volk in Minneapolis against eight distributors and two circuits has ended and the court has set an April 15 date for the final briefs in the case. Discounts to Teachers The Walter Reade Theatres, one of the few circuits in the country to maintain a separate reduced admission rate for students, has now extended reduced rates to public school teachers. Gerard to Boston Philip Gerard, Eastern Publicity Manager, left New York yesterday (Monday) for Boston to join Herman Kass, Eastern exploitation manager in the supervision of the publicity and promotion campaign on "Six Bridges To Cross," which will have its world premiere at the RKO Memorial Theatre in Boston tomorrow, launching more than 150 dates in the New England territory. Oppose Lower Foreign Taxes (Continued from page 1) lower than the rate on domestic earnings, and also to postpone U. S. taxes on foreign earnings until they are actually remitted to this country. The Treasury is expected to submit to Congress later this year detailed proposals for carrying out this program. Similar Plan Last Year The Treasury had such a plan which the House approved last year, but the scheme was rejected by the Senate. That plan excluded film earnings from the eligible list, and Motion Picture Association president Eric Johnston was among the witnesses who attacked the plan before the Senate Finance Committee. Recently Johnston wrote Treasury officials asking them to include the film companies in this year's proposal to Congress. This top Treasury official declared today that the staff is still studying the question and the door is not yet completely closed, but that the present inclination is to go along with last year's proposal, and reject the film industry request for coverage. One of Three Tax Actions Treasury Secretary Humphrey, at a press conference on the President's budget message, said that the foreign income change was one of three tax actions being sought from Congress this year, the other two being extension of the present 52 per cent cor porate tax rate and extension of present excise rates. In his budget message, President Eisenhower declared "we cannot afford to have any further loss of revenue this year through reductions in taxes," but again held out hope for further tax cuts next year. Humphrey said he did not think the Treasury would send to Congress this year any proposals to change technical provisions of the tax laws if the changes involved any substantial revenue loss. This apparently ruled out plans for income averaging schemes, easier capital gains taxes and other relief proposals. It also seemed to indicate that MPA would have difficulty getting another change it recently requested from the Treasury, the ending of the 30 per cent withholding tax on money earned here by foreign film companies. Tax Records Simplified The President's message did ask Congress for one other tax change which could help industry employers some in their bookkeeping chores. At present, employers must report to the U. S. four times a year on amounts withheld from workers' pay for social security, and once a year on amounts withheld for income tax purposes. The President said he would ask Congress to change the law to permit one combined report a year for both subjects. D.C. Tent Installs Ehrlich as Barker WASHINGTON, Jan. 17. — Alvin Q. Ehrlich was installed as Chief Barker of the Variety Club of Washington today, at a "Four Star" luncheon at the Mayflower Hotel. The luncheon had these four purposes : to install Ehrlich and other new officers for the coming year ; to make final payment to Children's Hospital for the $115,800 Variety Club Carter Barron Memorial Clinic ; to give another $2,000 to Providence Hospital for a new building ; and to thank Variety Club wives and other women who worked on the Club's 1954 Welfare Awards Drive. Skouras Honored for 'Scope Introduction Spyros P. Skouras, president of 20th Century-Fox, yesterday was presented with a special scroll by Meyer Baranco of Skouras Theatres for introducing CinemaScope and the medium's "vast stimulation of theatre business." Skouras was also presented with a showmanship book containing highlights of a CinemaScope First Anniversary Week campaign staged by the theatre circuit this past October. Attending the presentation ceremony were managers of the Skouras Theatres from Queens and Nassau. New Adv. Program For 'Christmas' A completely new advertising program for "White Christmas" is being prepared by Paramount. The new advertisements have been included in a special pressbook supplement which is now being distributed with the regular "White Christmas" pressbooks. Republic Acquires 'Fu Manchu' Stories A deal covering exclusive rights to "Dr. Fu Manchu" for television, radio and motion pictures was announced yesterday by Herbert J. Yates, Republic president, and Sax Rohmer, creator of the character. Agreement was reached over the weekend, with Yates signing on behalf of Hollywood Television Service, Inc., and Republic Productions, Inc., and Douglas Storer representing Rohmer. Production of 78 half-hour TV shows will begin within two months, according to Earl Collins, president of Hollywood Television Service. Rohmer will leave in a week for Hollywood conferences with Yates and Collins on the stories to be developed for television, production plans, plus the selection of a star to portray "Dr. Fu Manchu." Three full-length motion picture productions are also planned by Republic for international release, based on the most popular of the novels, "The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu," "The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu," and "The Hand of Dr. Fu Manchu. 2 New Films Start; 23 in Production HOLLYWOOD, Jan. 17. — Three pictures were completed this week and only two new pictures were started, for a total of 23 pictures now in production. Started were : "Bring Your Smile Along," and "Jail Bait," (Columbia). Completed were : "Wiretapper," Great Commission Films (Independent) ; "Violent Saturday," CinemaScope, De Luxe Color (20th CenturyFox) ; "Gentlemen Marry Brunettes," RussfieldVoyager, CinemaScope, Technicolor (United Artists) > People Sam Pinanski, New England exhibitor chairman of the 1955 campaign of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, has appointed the following state chairmen: Richard Smith, Massachusetts; Ray Kiniry, Vermont; Fenton Scribner, New Hampshire; Connie Russell and Ralph Tull, Maine, and Myer Stanzler, Rhode Island. n Morris Lowenstein, former head of Theatre Owners of Oklahoma, and Sam Brunk, past chief barker of the Oklahoma City Variety Club, were commissioned colonels by Governor Murray just before he stepped out of office. Norm Levinson, former assistant manager of Loew's Poli in Hartford, was hosted at an informal buffet supper Saturday night. Levinson is leaving Hartford to become M-G-M's regional press representative in Minneapolis. Jerry D. Evans, assistant manager of the First Avenue Theatre in Rome, Ga., has been appointed manager of the Rockmart Theatre, Rockmart, Ga. He replaces R. C. Foster, who has entered the U. S. Army. Cleo Henry has returned to her old spot with Universal's San Francisco exchange after "serving time" at the Seattle branch. Pete Vigna, Fox West Coast booker in San Francisco, is back on the job after being confined in a hospital with a leg infection. Larry Wallace, concessions manager for E. M. Loew Theatres in Boston, is in Winthrop Hospital for an operation. Charlie Jackson, Warner Brothers salesman in Minneapolis and a veteran of 37 years in the industry, has retired and has left to make his home in Florida. The Minneapolis WB branch gave him a farewell party. Fred Polangin, formerly vicepresident in charge of Buchanan & Co.'s Hollywood office, has joined Ted Bates & Co. here as an account executive on the CBS-Columbia account. n Robert Domenic has taken over the closed Point Theatre, Point Richmond, Calif., and will reopen it shortly. D Eph Rosen, assistant branch manager of the M-G-M Minneapolis branch, is on a month's special assignment in Des Moines.