Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1955)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY OL. 78. NO. 110. NEW YORK, U. S. A., FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1955 TEN CENTS U.61 Per Share arner Year's Net Increases To $4,002,530 Zross Also Shows Rise Over Figures for 1 954 A net profit of $4,002,530 for the ear ended Aug. 31 was reported for Vainer Brothers yesterday by presilent Harry Warner. This represented an increase of $25,656 over the net earnings reported for the 1954 fiscal year when the net a m o u nted to $3,976,874. The consolidated profit for the year, Warner pointed out in a statement to stockholders, was equivalent :o $1.61 per share on 2,474,271 shares outstanding on Aug. 31. The (Continued on page 4) Harry Warner fRichard III' Will Have Day-and-Date Theatre, TV debut London Films' production of 'Richard III," in VistaVision and ;olor by Technicolor, will have its American premiere simultaneously at he Bijou Theatre here and as a spectacular" on the National Broad•asting Co.'s television network some ime between Feb. 27 and March 15, t was reported yesterday by an oficial of Lopert Films. The official disclosed that Ilya ^opert, president of Lopert Films, ( Continued on page 4 ) Expect Essaness Suit Closed Within Week From THE DAILY Bureau CHICAGO, Dec. 8.— It now ap»ears probable that within the next veek final papers in settlement of the LSsaness anti-trust suit will be ready ind that all parties involved will ap( Continued on page 4) Myers 'Gratified But Not Surprised* at Judge Yankwich's 16mm. Suit Decision Special to THE DAILY WASHINGTON, Dec. 8.— Allied States Association general counsel Abram F. Myers said he was "gratified but not surprised" at Judge Yankwich's decision to dismiss the government's 16 mm. anti-trust case. He added that he hoped the judge's decision "would be the final termination of this strange litigation," and that the government would not appeal it to the Supreme Court. "In my judgment," Myers said, "the real target was the exhibitors, and not the defendants. This view is confirmed by the concluding arguments of government counsel, which I have just finished reading." UA Status Discussed At Johnston Meeting United Artists' status in the industry today— whether the company is still a member of the Motion Picture Association of America due to the Association's by-laws or whether the company's resignation takes immediate effect, was discussed here yesterday afternoon at a meeting between MPAA president Eric Johnston and UA. executives Arthur B. Krim and Robert S. Benjamin. It was said that Johnston called upon the UA president and board chairm m to discuss the situation and the results of that meeting were not revealed. Under the by-laws of the MPAA, a member is required to give six months' notice when terminating its (Continued on page 4) FJP to Map Plans For Drive Wednesday Some 100 industry leaders have been invited to attend an informal dinner at the Hotel Pierre on Wednesday evening in connection with tire amusement division's participation in the current 1955-56 Federation of Jewish Philanthropies campaign. Highlight of the dinner will be a roundtable discussion of individual responsibility in communal affairs and the significant contributions being made by Federation's 116 affiliated agencies which annually serve more than 620,000 New Yorkers irrespective of their race or religion. Final plans for the Hotel Pierre dinner which is one of a series of events planned for the coming weeks in the amusement division's program, ( Continued on page 4 ) REVIEW: The Court Martial Of Billy Mitchell Warner Bros.— Cinema Scope Tribute to an American hero too long unsung is being handsomely and eloquently paid by Warner Bros, in a fine new film. The hero is General (later Colonel) Billy Mitchell, whose courageous efforts to awaken this country's military leaders to the need for a powerful air force after the first world war resulted in severe personal abuse before final vindication. With popular Gary Cooper as its star; with "The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell" as its intriguing title; and with CinemaScope and WarnerColor as additional selling factors, this picture should most certainly do the outstanding business at the box-office that it well deserves. Undertaking to tell on the screen this touchy episode in recent American history, some of the participants in which are still living, must have given its makers considerable pause from the start. Once the decision was made, however, they went about the task intelligently (Continued on page 4) Initial Setback Bid to Block Loew's Circuit Expansion Hit Court Denies Snaper Status of Intervenor Wilbur Snaper's Keyport Theatre Corp., not being a party to the Loew's consent decree, was denied the right to intervene here yesterday in Loew's Theatres Federal District Court application to erect a drive-in theatre in Baritan, N. J. In rendering his decision, however, Judge Sidney Sugarman allowed the Keyport Theatre Corp., which operates the nearby Strand, in Keyport, (Continued on page 4) Lipton Outlines Pre-Selling Plans On 'Goodman Story' From THE DAILY Bureau HOLLYWOOD, Dec. 8.-Assertmg that "more people will be exposed to the pre-selling of 'The Benny Goodman Story'" than any previous Universal picture, David A. Lipton, vice-president, addressed the company's sales and promotion executives at today's session of the sales conferences now under way at the studio. Lipton outlined the company's promotion plans on the 12 film productions (Continued on page 16) David Lipton Col. Declares Cash And Stock Dividends The board of directors of Columbia Pictures yesterday declared its regular quarterly dividend of 30 cents per share on the common stock outstanding and \oting trust certificates for common stock, payable Jan. 31, (Continued on page 4)