Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1956)

October 30, 1956 Motion Picture Daily 3 EDPLE I1 Stellings, president of Stewi ett Theatres and recently resident of Theatre Owners ikca, will be guest of honor fciday at a stag party to be ttiim by the Charlotte, N. C. lub. □ -n Berke has resigned as producer for Guild Films ihis own New York produc?>anv, making full length feaUnited Artists release. □ ftn Goldman, Philadelphia ead, has resigned as memhe Mayor's Theatre Control ~l_ ormed several years ago as ing body for stage attracilclman holds that recent de" f the U. S. Supreme Court board of any right to police lilpoductions. 1 Carter, of Ottawa, has ned to the new post of comp: the Canadian Broadcasting ] ith responsibility for finan" ations of the CBC. □ s Carrature has been named ( of the tax department at . idio, effective immediately, ces Henry Horton, who reently. f Ohio Board Will Before Convention MBUS, O., Oct. 29.-The directors of the Independent Dwners of Ohio will meet on |Nov. 12, at the Deshler-Hil a|i here on the eve of the state |»n of the association, Nov. 13Jjrding to Bobert Wile, ITO 5ecretary. mvention will open Nov. 13 | luncheon, with registration I Speakers at the luncheon moon session are scheduled to 1\bram F. Myers, Allied genisel; Bube Shor, president of ty Emanuel, eastern Pennsyl~~ hibitor. :imonial dinner to Martin resident of the association I to 1923 and from 1925 to II be held Tuesday evening ■How Boom. 11 d Republic Suit fork Supreme Court Justice R Aurelio yesterday granted y Steinberg and Irving Amster, ers in Bepublic Pictures, the | 'amend their complaints and allegations" in their suit lerbert J. Yates and the Beoard of directors, originally 955. Judge Aurelio, in his ;terday, dismissed part of the s in the suit, which had . he defendants violated their i duties and "wasted corporate ' permitting certain films to be Production-Distribution Firms Had $706,489,000 Receipts in '54 By J. A. OTTEN WASHINGTON, Oct. 29.-Firms engaged in producing and distributing films for other than television use had gross receipts of $706,489,000 in 1954, the Census Bureau reported today. Producers and distributors of films tv had additional receipts of $85,400,000, the Bureau said. It put the receipts of companies servicing production and distribution firms at $160,149,000, but these of course came out of and duplicated the receipts of the production-distribution companies. Additional Beports Coming Comparable figures for earlier years are not available, Bureau officials said, explaining that earlier figures were collected and issued on different bases than the 1954 figures. More detailed reports are due shortly on the operation of production, distribution and service firms in 1954, based on the comprehensive censuses of business and manufacturing taken last year. The Bureau also revised slightly its earlier-released figures on theatre business in 1954, showing 18,491 theatres with total receipts of $1,407,151,000 two years ago, compared with 18,532 thea'tres with $1,614,235,000 of receipts in 1948. Preliminary figures released in May had shown 18,560 theatres in 1954 with $1,415,763,000 of receipts. Overall Total Unobtainable The production-distribution receipts naturally come largely out of the theatre receipts, and are not receipts from the public in addition to the theatre receipts. However, some productiondistribution receipts do not come from theatres— such as receipts from sales of old films to television. There's no way of figuring, Census officials said, just how much all branches of the industry took in from the public, with duplication and overlapping eliminated. Today's report showed 1,156 companies engaged in motion picture distribution activities, with total receipts of $685,404,000. These receipts included receipts from export sales. The distribution firms included 798 distributing films for other than television use, with total receipts of $637,482,000. Another 84 firms distributed films for television, with receipts of $24,052,000, and 274 additional firms supplied film delivery and other services for film distributors, with total receipts of $23,870,000. 775 Companies in Production According to the Bureau, 775 firms were engaged in actual film production in 1954, with total receipts of $130,355,000. These firms included 541 companies engaged in producing films for theatres and other non-television use, with receipts of $69,007,000 (and 234 firms producing tv films, with receipts of $61,348,000. Another 421 companies were engaged in casting services, scenery rental, camera rental and other services allied to film pro duction, and these firms had $136,279,000 of receipts. Bu reau officials explained that production receipts included only film rentals received directly from exhibitors, receipts from outright sales of films, and miscellaneous receipts othei than from film rentals. Beceipts from independent distributors and from company-owned distribution offices are included in distribution receipts and not in production receipts. Figures from Different Years The previous film industry census look figures from production and distribution in different years— the former in 1947 and the latter in 1948-and included different types of companies and different types of receipts. For example, the 1947 census of manufacturing showed 277 firms engaged in film production and service activities, with "total cost of work done" reported at $460,143,000. The 1954 census counted more companies, but used the artificially-calculated "receipts" figure instead of the "cost of work done." The 1948 census of distribution showed 651 establishments with receipts of $533,963,000. This did not include distributors of non-theatrical films, but otherwise should be comparable to the 1954 figures for distributors of films for other than tv use. Drive-ins Total 3,775 The revised figures for theatre receipts published today showed 14,716 conventional and portable theatres with receipts of $1,179,371,000, and 3,775 drive-in theatres with receipts of $227,780,000. The 1948 census showed 17,721 conventional and portable theatres with receipts of $1,567,402,000 and 811 drive-ins with receipts of $46,833,000. All receipt figures include admissions taxes. Census officials cautioned on one difference between the 1954 and 1948 figures: the lower federal admissions tax rate in effect in 1954. Cinerama Would Settle Claims and Obligations Cinerama Productions Corp. hopes to settle by the end of this month, all of its outstanding claims with Cinerama, Inc., and to have terminated all future obligations to Lansing Foundation, Inc., president Milo J. Sutliff has declared in a letter to stockholders. Sutliff said that Cinerama Productions has liquidated a $1,940,000 debt and, in effect, paid out of theatre net income its share of exhibition and production costs in the amount of $8,578,000. He also said that "many advantages were realized by us in the agreement with Stanley Warner Cinerama Corp., in which the company trans . . . NEWS ROUNDUP 'Giant' Seen 'Top Grosser' Based on the returns of its first three openings to date— New York, Hollywood and Chicago— George Stevens' production "Giant" has already established itself as the "foremost contender for top grossing honors in the history of Warner Bros.," the company said yesterday. At the Boxy Theatre here it did $165,000 in its first week, $152,000 for a second, and is expected to draw $120,000 in its third week ending tomorrow night. A Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, where the picture's first week recorded $50,000, it is expected to wind up its second week tomorrow night with $45,000. At the Chicago Theatre, where the picture opened Thursday, it lias grossed $54,269 in its first four days ending Sunday night, and is anticipated to gross $80,000 for the week. ■ Kreisler Out of Budapest Bernard Kreisler, official of the International Film Associates Corp., now on a tour behind the Iron Curtain to negotiate sales for a package of American-made films there, was reported by the United Press to be "one of the first Americans to escape from Hungary since the uprising began." ■ 'Silent' Big in Mich. Columbia's "The Silent World" did $4,200 for its first three days at the State Theatre in Kalamazoo, Mich., after the opening day of $1,450 set a new one-day record for a Columbia film there, topping "Caine Mutiny." ■ 'Shark' Co-op Program A vast retail co-operative program spotlighting Samuel Goldwyn, Jr.'s CinemaScope production of "The Shark-fighters" at more than 200,000 outlets in 123 major market areas has been set by United Artists, it was announced vesterdav by Boger H. Lewis, UA national director of advertising, publicity and exploitation. ferred its exclusive license and obligations for the production and exhibition of pictures in the Cinerama process." Sutliff said that among the advantages is a 25 per cent increase in "our share of current net profits of the first four theatres, and in addition, an immediate distribution of 10 per cent of the net profits in 1 1 additional theatres which were opened in the U. S. and Canada, effective with the exhibition of 'Seven Wonders of the World'." Sutliff said that the next film in the Cinerama process is "The Search for Shangri-La" and that it is nearly completed and preparations are going forward for yet another film, to be entitled "The Eighth Day."