Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1957)

| nesday. March 20, 1957 Motion Picture Daily 7 zlemeter {Continued from page 1) ing with the newsmen afterward, lemeter spokesman Paul Macira disclosed in an announcement e press today, "we are calling 'elemeter's Electronic Theatre', l will combine a motion picture re, a neighborhood television n, and pay-as-you-see TV." tcNamara continued: "as you , many theatres in different parts e U.S. are beginning to experiwith piping motion pictures into tome on a pay-as-you-see basis, leter, however, has come up with iplete package including a new of Telemeter box that has been evelopment for the past four Exhibitors to Be Invited cNamara concluded: "beginning lay, every exhibitor and big real developer will be invited to and see this theatre in operafters and informative literature get out Friday to 2,500 exhibiocated within travel range of the Angeles plant, where demonstra will be continued on a daily ule. e next demonstration site will ew York, where an appropriate •e will be engaged for demon)n purposes within a month. L Financing ( Continued from page 1 ) gned an underwriting agreement F. Eberstadt & Co., Wall Street ment firm, looking to the filing d April 1 of a registration statecovering a proposed offering to iblic of convertible subordinated tures due 1969, and 350,000 1 of common stock of the cor ■on. i the latter amount, 250,000 ■ are to be offered for the ac ■ of the corporation and 100,000 at are to be marketed for the jl?ement group who, after the sale, Mpll own a majority of the U. A. forking Capital to Be Aided A previously reported, it is exit that the sale of debentures Ui ealize about $10,000,000 and If the common stock about $6,O|)0. Proceeds will be used, the ■my said, to retire certain outapg debt and to increase working Ml to finance expanding indepennlilm production. Qf-ring price of the stock and b|:ures was not disclosed, nor i||)ther pertinent details, company iijfs contending that Securities & clnge Commission regulations til: information which can be blized. They added that they had si further pledged to silence by d^vriting firms, constituting a tifwide group of investment ni s and dealers headed by the >4adt firm. VV|?ther or not the new securities U ! : listed is unknown at this time. Present Pacts Called Comprehensive No New Union-Producer Disputes Seen from Telemeter, Telemovies Phil Reisman By WILLIAM B. WEAVEB HOLLYWOOD, March 19-Although full particulars of Telemeter's electronic theatre are not yet widely known in Hollywood, a Motion Picture Daily canvass conducted today indicates that neither this development Henry S. Griffing's Telemo nor Henry S vies, described last week in Oklahoma City, is going to precipitate new contractual disputes between talent guilds, unions, and film producers. Inquiries in quarters at interest revealed a general belief that theatrehome television by wire will be regarded in most respects as merely "extension of theatre exhibition." Nevertheless, some basic contracts now in effect do not spell out the complete answer precisely. Major studios, it was said, regard present contracts as sufficiently comprehensive to cover theatre-home television as box-office exhibition. The Screen Actors Guild, although exaotly this situation has not been fully explored by its board, is inclined to accept this type of exhibition on the same terms as exhibition within theatre walls. The Screen Writers Guild is disposed to watch developments without comment pending the already scheduled contract reopening date in September. The Screen Directors Guild was uncommunicative. Bv and large, guilds and unions displayed no present concern about participation in additional revenues which may accrue to the industry throueh these new developments. The general attitude is, rather, that all devices that promote business progress are welcome. Add Details of 1956 RKO Theatres' Results The annual meeting of stockholders of List Industries Corp., which includes RKO Theatres, Inc., will be held at 10 A.M., April 12, in the Colonial Room of the Park Sheraton Hotel here. The company's detailed annual report issued to stockholders yesterdav disclosed that at the end of 1956 RKO Theatres had 82 houses, 75 of which it operated, the rest being leased to others. Three theatre properties were sold last year; two were leased back by RKO, the other had been closed. In addition, two theatres regarded as unprofitable, were leased to others, reducing by two the number of theatres operated bv RKO. The report shows that during 1956 two operating theatre and commercial properties in Cleveland and Washington, and one non-operating property in New York were disposed of for anDroximately $2,800,000 in cash and $3,800,000 in mortgage notes. Third Largest Net, Says Schwartz In a letter to stockholders, Sol A. Schwartz, RKO Theatres president, reports that 1956 net income was third largest in the six years of independent theatre operation, being exceeded only in 1955 and 1954. He said that top pictures since the holidays have been "responsible for an increase in theatre attendance and receipts. We anticipate our theatre operating profit for the first quarter will exceed that for the same period of 1956." As reported in vesterdav's Motion Picture Daily, List Industries reported net income of 3,234,000 before special items, and $3,140,000 after such items. The results are not broken down as to theatre operations but include List's operations in textiles, electronics, warehouse and other fields. TOA Group ( Continued from page 1 ) exhibition association's recommendations on expanding the powers and scoDe of the SBA so that theatres can apply for governmental loans for mortgage purposes. The TOA representatives are Philip F. Harling and A. Tulian Brylawski. Recentlv the TOA board of directors and executive committee anpmved a 12-ooint petition to be submitted to the Federal agency. The petition asks that real estate mortgage money be guaranteed by an agenev of the U.S. government, either bv the SBA or bv a new agencv to be created. The 12-point petition was fullv reported upon in Motion Picture Daily for March 4. License Fee Cut (Continued from page 1) vear but which Governor Averell Harriman vetoed. The bill, while increasing the rate for the licensing by the State Education DeDartment's motion picture division of original film from three to four dollars per thousand feet, decreases the charge for prints. The charge would be four dollars for each "additional entire copy," instead of the present two dollars a thousand feet. Goldwyn Ruling (Continued from page 1) higher court decreed that Federal Judge Edward P. Murphy, before whom the trial was to have begun next Monday, must show cause on April 10 on a writ of mandamus, why he should not restore 20 films he previously eliminated from trial consideration. This means, in the event Goldwyn 's writ is upheld, Judge Murphy must (Continued from page 1) and a member of the board of directors. He subsequently was with Joseph P. Kennedy Enterprises and until six months ago, when he joined the Fugazy organization, was president of Michael Todd Enterprises. Reisman was born in St. Paul, Minn., where he completed his education at the St. Paul College of Law. He entered the film business in 1917 as a salesman for Triangle Films and a year later joined the Samuel Goldwyn sales organization. Within the year he returned to Triangle as branch manager in Milwaukee. Joined Paramount in 1920 In 1920 Reisman joined the Paramount sales staff and six months later was appointed exchange manager for the company in Minneapolis. During the next four years he was advanced to district manager and general manager of the Canadian territory. In 1925 Paramount brought him to New York as Eastern division sales manager. Two years later, Reisman resigned to become general sales manager of Pathe Exchange, Inc. In 1930 he moved over to Universal Pictures Corp., where he served as general sales manager for two years. Joining RKO in 1932, he became theatre division vice-president in charge of film buying. He was elevated in 1934 to the post of vicepresident and general sales manager of the Export Division. He became vice-president and foreign sales manager in 1939. In 1942 Reisman was elected vice-president of RKO Radio Pictures, Inc., in charge of foreign distribution, the post he held when he left the company. Accepted Rockefeller Invitation Reisman served the motion picture industry as a whole in a number of capacities. In 1942 Nelson Rockefeller asked him to become director of distribution for the office of coordinator of inter-American Affairs. The following year he served as associate director of the motion picture division of the Office of the Co-ordinator of Inter-American Affairs. At the same time he was chairman of the foreign managers' division of the War Activities Committee of the motion picture industry. He was a member of the Motion Picture Pioneers. Reisman, who lived in New Rochelle, N. Y., is survived by his widow, Irene; twin sons, Phil, Jr., and Bill; a brother, Jules, of Spokane, Washington, and two sisters, Mrs. Avid Kentor, Long Island, and Mrs. Violet Peterson, Los Angeles. Services will be held Friday at 11:00 A.M. at the chapel of the George T. Davis Funeral Home, 14 Le Count Place, New Rochelle. A private burial will take place at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hartsdale. hear testimony on all 27 of the original pictures named in the producer's monopoly suit.