Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1955)

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6 Motion Picture daily Thursday, November 10, 195 Reports on Clinics Heard as Allied Meet Closet TESMA Okay 'Exposition' ir New Duties For AlliecTs EDC Group (Continued from page 1) handled locally, a national officer will be called in and he will meet with the involved company's general sales manager in an effort to solve the matter. A fund of $200,000 to implement tlie activities of the plan has been proposed and Allied members will be asked to subscribe to it on an "equitable basis." Although the convention did not vote on the plan formally, there were no objections to the project from the floor. Will Fight Circuit Expansion The EDC also will be brought into Allied's fight against circuit expansion. In its directive to Abram Myers, general counsel, on the curbing of circuit acquisitions, it was brought out that the local EDC units will be charged with the duty of reporting to the national association all instances of activity by "promoters or front organizations that cannot be accounted for locally and which appear to be attempts by the divorced circuits to invade the area," in hopes of heading off such projects in their initial stages. Announcement of the new EDC project followed a report on the film clinics, in which it was asserted that the film companies were not living up to their promises to the joint exhibition committee. Sig Goldberg, clinic coordinator from Wisconsin, gave a summary of the various clinics' findings and reported that 50 per cent of the situations grossing $500 a week were being forced to' play product on percentage. He contended that in towns up to 20,000 population, very few exhibitors could buy on flat rental. Told 'No Prints' Unless the theatres were willing to pay the demand price, they were told there were no prints available, Goldberg said. He said that exhibitors charged that Paramount was the worst offender on the print situation. Goldberg said that several clinics had charged that Universal was using "To Hell and Back" as a "stop" picture; that is, exhibitors were told they had to play every Universal picture up to that one before they could get the Audie Murphy film. He said that steps may be taken to get a court decision on the practice. The clinics also brought out, he said, that some drive-ins had been refused top pictures in the off-seasons. An important complaint, Goldberg said, involved C.O.D. film shipments to exhibitors who are in the midst of negotiating an adjustment on previously played product. It was contended that Warner Brothers was the company most diffi No Admissions Control, He Says Myers Outlines the Details of Bill For Regulation of Film Rentals Special to THE DAILY CHICAGO, Nov. 9.— Abram F. Myers, general counsel of Allied States Association, today outlined the details of Allied's proposed bill which would seek to regulate maximum rentals without making it possible for the Federal agency concerned to interfere with : N.Y. with TOA exhibitors by fixing admission prices or in any other fashion. Myers drafted the bill at the instruction of the Allied board prior to the Milwaukee convention a year ago. "Never before has a bill been drafted for price regulation for such a variable commodity as motion pictures," Myers said. Pointing out that the United States Constitution's "due process" amendment makes impossible any approach aiming at placing a fixed ceiling on rentals, Myers gave the background of the plan adopted. Asks FTC Supervision The idea is to provide for Federal Trade Commission supervision of "fair and reasonable" rentals for each picture for theatres in various classifications. Each theatre would be placed in a particular category and each release would be given by the distributor a rental for every type of theatre operation. Exhibitors could challenge the classification of theatres or the allocation of each film. In order to avoid the possibility of having per cent rentals set for even the smallest theatres, Myers said consideration would be given to a provision in the bill requiring flat rentals in operations where the weekly gross is under $1,000 or the film rental under $100. He invited Allied members to forward other comments and suggestions concerning measure. "Allied is irrevocably committed to the bill unless the film companies, before its enactment, satisfy Allied leaders that such Federal intervention is unnecessary," Myers stated. Julius Gordon Favors It Julius Gordon, Allied secretary, said, "I know the bill is essential to my salvation and I think it is to yours," and added: "Noting that exhibitors in Europe are prospering under the form of government intervention in those countries, " ( 1 ) What other American manufacturer starves his local market on account of quotas abroad? "(2) What other American manufacturer arbitrates prices abroad but not at home? "(3) What other manufacturer's product is sold for less 5,000 miles away than five miles from where it is made?" cult with which to do business, with Paramount in second place. The fairest company, according to the small town clinics, was M-G-M, with 20th Century-Fox a close second. Benjamin Berger, head of North Central Allied, lashed out at distribution, charging that its alleged monopolistic practices had not been curbed and that the company heads apparently were not aware of the fact thai there are small towns in this country. He said that the presidents and sales managers will be forced to recognize that the smaller situations are just as important as the bigger cities. He singled out Samuel Goldwyn and Paramount president Barney Balaban as those who, he said, were not in favor of small towns playing their top pictures. SBC Hearings Start Jan. 25 Berger announced that the hearings of the Small Business Committee would start on Jan. 25 and that Allied would be represented by men who would be armed with material supplied by Allied's EDC. Berger traced his own career since coming from Poland in 1913 and said that he had won legal ' cases over ASCAP and Western Electric on service charges and other litigation, and that he and exhibition would win out on the film rentals issues by way of the Allied government-regulation bill. All resolutions were passed unanimously. Begarded as the most important was the one calling for the halting of new circuit acquisitions which, according to the resolution, "constitutes the gravest menace of all to the independent exhibitors of the United States and threatens a revival of the domination and control of the exhibition field." Three Other Resolutions Other resolutions were aimed against theatres bidding for the exclusive right to telecast the World Series and the advisability of any further attempt to obtain admission tax relief until 1957. Another reaffirmed the Allied board's action in not renewing Allied membership in COMPO. The convention ended here tonight with a banquet sponsored by CocaCola, at which 20th Century-Fox's Richard Egan was toastmaster. Morton Downey, Jack Palance and the Goldwyn Girls supplied the entertainment. The convention sessions were well attended, well over 300 at each meeting. The clinic of circuit buyers had more than 1,000 theatres represented. i Special to THE DAILY CHICAGO, Nov. 9. Theati Equipment and Supply Manufacture Association voted unanimously todf to confirm the earlier decision of i board of directors to meet with The;] tre Owners of America in a "giganti exposition, trade show and fair," ; the New York Coliseum next Sep 19-25. Invitations to the Internation; Popcorn Association and Theatr Equipment Dealers Association t hold their joint conventions at tl same time will be extended to thes organizations immediately. Board Had Approved Lee Jones, newly elected presiden of TESMA, with Tom Lavezzi, it new vice-president, and Merlin Lewis executive secretary, will lead a com mittee to negotiate final details o the TESMA contract with TOA Since TOA's board and its membership already have approved the ten tative agreement, as has TESMA'J board and membership, this is tan tamount to settlement of a final coni tract. Jones declared that it would bt the policy of his new administratioi to immediately settle time and plac< for TESMA's 1957 and 1958 trade shows, and to invite the participa tion of all industry organizations in eluding the International Popcorn Asi| sociation, Theatre Equipment Dealers Association, Theatre Owners ofi America and Allied States Association, as well as the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers and the International Association of Theatrical and Stage Employees. VC Tent 35 Builds Epilepsy Clinic The New York Variety Club Foundation to Combat Epilepsy has announced the establishment of a clinic for children with epilepsy and a new research unit at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine— Bronx Municipal Hospital Center, according to chief barker William J. German. Another project of the Foundation will be the distribution of a motion picture on epilepsy, which is being produced by Spyros P. Skouras, president of 20th Century-Fox. The picture will be available for theatres and later for free showings to ParentTeacher Associations, women's clubs, and other groups. The crew of the Variety Club of New York, now preparing for the 20th annual convention of Variety International here next May, has voted to contribute one-half the proceeds of the convention and the convention journal to the Foundation.