Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1959)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY 5, NO. 80 NEW YORK, U.S.A., TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 1959 TEN CENTS ares Act Warn Producers timm** E»t«"ded °ver 10-Yeors urt Blocks On FIDO Terms 20th-Fox Studio Sale ylight Time Minneapolis 3 Counties Defy erne Court Ruling Special to THE DAILY XEAPOLIS, April 27.-In a ye move the Minnesota State le Court granted an injunction iv requested by the Minnesota ment Company, IATSE and interested parties," to block t time in the MinneapolisVaul area. Fast time had been (( led to start at 2 A.M. Sunday, while the counties of Henniamsey and Anoka in the metroMinneapolis— St. Paul area late Saturday to defy the state lfand start daylight time as Jed. The county boards said id found a loophole in the writ (Continued on page 5) j Policemen in tires 7s Legal ' Special to THE DAILY ri FOHD. April 27. Superior Judge Louis Shapiro has ruled olicemen on duty inside New ! ' , Conn., motion picture thea Tay be annoying to the owners, ie practice of stationing uni P 1 lawmen in theatres is not un ,-utional. ; . ruling came in a 8250,000 damait brought against the city of Sritain, 10 miles south of Hart~>y Perakos Theatre Associates (Continued on page 5) By PETER BURNUP LONDON, April 25 (By Air Mail ) .—Practices of certain British producers in their relations with the Film Industry Defence Organisation, designed to stem the flood of films on television, came under fire in a speech by CEA's president, J. D. Richards, at a meeting of the Association's Leeds Branch. Richards appealed to "delinquent" producers to "play the game" and not "get the idea that FIDO is just a form of extension to the Production Fund." The CEA president added the firm warning that FIDO— which, he said, had kept thousands of pictures off TV —would be killed if the producers in (Continued on page 4) Push Pay-TV Ban Now, Harling Urges Pointing out that five major cities have to date defeated attempts to establish pay-TV in their communities, Philip F. Harling, co-chairman and treasurer of the Joint Committee on Toll TV, yesterday sent a letter to exhibitors urging a renewed drive in support of the two pay-TV bills intro(Continued on page 15.) Treasury Working Out Soviet Film Exemption From THE DAILY Bureau WASHINGTON, April 27.-The Treasury Department has tentatively agreed to exempt from the 30 per cent withholding tax payments on (Continued on page 5) Up to Stockholders Terms of $56,110,000 Deal Reported; Fox Can Have 20-Year Studio Lease Terms of the $56,110,000 deal involving sale of the 20th Century-Fox studio property at Beverly Hills, Calif., are described to the company's stockholders in notices of the annual meeting May 19, at which they will vote on the proposal. A Artists Fees Bill Vetoed by Rockefeller Special to THE DAILY ALBANY, April 27. The Gilbert Bill, which would have eliminated the existing ceiling on the allowable fees for theatrical agents (fixed by law at 5 per cent of the wages received during the first 10 weeks of the engagement) and would instead have required all theatrical employment (Continued on page 5) Spyros Skouras Decision Is Reserved on Goldwyn Suit Re-Trial Special to THE DAILY SAN FRANCISCO, April 27.Federal Judge Albert C. Wollenberg today reserved decision on a motion by counsel for Samuel Goldwyn for a re-trial of the producer's anti-trust suit which abruptly terminated last December with the death of Judge Edward P. Murphy in the last days of the long-drawn litigation. This (Continued on page 5) letter to stockholders from Spyros P. Skouras, president, which accomp a n i e s the meeting notice, calls special attention to the deal. The deal is in two parts, one for 260 acres of real estate, for which William Zeckendorf's Webb & Knapp company will pay a total of $39,660,000 over a 10-year period; the other, for 75 acres containing the studio and production facilities, for which the Webb & Knapp company will pay $16,450,000, this parcel to be purchased within five years of the first purchase. The buyer paid $2,500,000 at the time of signing of the agreement and is to pay an additional $2,500,000 following the closing, and an additional $680,000 at closing for a strip of land running through the property which (Continued on page 4) Kill lission Prices in $e Cities on Rise From THE DAILY Bureau \ SHINGTON, April 27.-Ad,i prices in large city motion Sift theatres rose sharply during . it quarter of 1959, the first rise year of declining prices, the i of Labor Statistics reported, ill Bureau collects figures quar(Continued on page 5) ISION TODAY— page 5 Para. Annual Stockholders Meet Slated for June 2 at Home Office Annual meeting of Paramount Pictures Corp. stockholders has been set for June 2 at the home office, Barney Balaban, president, informed stockholders yesterday in his message accompanying copies of the annual report. As reported on April 13, Paramount ' ~ playoff of "The Ten Commandments. Returns to date from the foreign market lead the company to believe its ultimate gross will be in excess of $60,000,000. He also reports that there are "reasonable prospects" that the second phase of the marketing of Paramount's former film library to television will (Continued on page 2) had net income from operations of 84,567,585 for 1958, compared with 85,425,201, the preceding year. In 1958, Paramount received $7,986,681 from the deal for release of its old films to television, bringing its income for the year to $12,554,266. Balaban's letter notes that Paramount has received more than $30,000,000 in film rentals from the initial Fox Has Confident Attitude: Skouras 20th Century-Fox continues to hold "a confident attitude toward the future of our company and its ability to maintain the popularity of motion pictures by supplying to the public films of the highest quality and in sufficient number and variety' to meet the needs of theatres," Spyros P. Skouras, president, informs stockholders in a message released yesterday with the company's annual report. Earnings for the year and other details were (Continued on page 4)