Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1959)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

6 Motion Picture Daily Thursday, October 8, 195!} PEOPLE Robert Stroh, a native of Chicago who in 1950 went to Greensboro, N. C, as an announcer for WCOG, later joining WFMY-TV there, has been named manager of the National Theatre in Greensboro. T. R. Alexander, formerly acting manager, goes to the Carolina Theatre as assistant Trust Countersuits Filed manager. □ Don Iogha has resigned as manager of Brandt Theatres' Plaza in Stamford, Conn., to become manager of Gorton's, record and hi-fi shop in New Canaan, Conn. His replacement at the theatre has yet to be named. □ Harry Freeman, who has been handling the advertising-publicity for "Porgy and Bess" in Philadelphia, is hospitalized with pneumonia. William Ornstein has come in from Cincinnati to fill in for him. □ Mario di Stanislao, booker for 20th Century-Fox in Philadelphia, has been promoted to the post of office manager at the exchange. □ Charles Lester, formerly Southern district manager for National Screen Service, was guest of honor at a dinner tendered him in Atlanta by the theatre owners of the area. Dick Kennedy was master of ceremonies at the affair, held at the quarters of the Variety Club. □ Ed Saretsky, Philadelphia attorney, has taken over the Cedar Theatre in that city. After refurbishing, he will reopen it as the Abbe Art Theatre. WB Albany Office Ready ALBANY, N. Y., Oct. 7. Warner Brothers on Friday will formally occupy its new, partitioned quarters on the second floor of the RTA Building, 991 Broadway. Included are private offices for Herbert L. Gaines, branch manager, and Ben Bartell, Warner Records representative. R. G. Braby Dies SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 7-Robert G. Braby, 47, office manager for United Artists here and long time film executive, died today at Salt Lake Hospital after a long illness. Braby had managed theatres and worked as a film salesman for the past 22 years. For over 40 Years Service and Quality has been Our Tradition. For 40 YecUS I Showmen all over America know A Trad illon I they wi]) get ,(,e best wnen they Of Service ^ order ( Continued 000 in trebled damages. In the first suit, the Meadow Glen maintained monopoly, conspiracy and unfair practices, stating that with two screens at the Twin, the distributors allowed the Twin Theatre to bid as one against the Meadow Glen. The three countersuits filed yesterday were in separate parts, with the two distributors, UA and UI, filing almost identical suits, each claiming $75,000 trebled damages against the Meadow Glen. The third countersuit brought by the Twin Drive-in asks for $150,000 trebled. Restraint of Trade Charged In the two distributor suits, they charge that the Meadow Glen and the Rifkins have entered into a combination of conspiracy to unreasonably restrain trade, and they deny the allegations in the first suit filed in July, 1959. They charge that at various times the Rifkins have called meetings with other exhibitors urging them to join together to boycott particular distributors and to refuse to purchase pictures until these distributors would agree to license them on terms the exhibitors chose and saw fit to pay. They also charge the exerting of pressure and influence on the part of the Rifkins who sought to deprive the Twin and other drive-ins of the privilege of obtaining proper film rentals. The two distributors claim they have been faced with a boycott of a large number of substantial and important customers and have been prevented from obtaining results from film rentals which they would otherwise have secured. Because of this, they were forced to accept lower film rentals and to grant greater adjustments than otherwise would have been the case, the complaint states. Request Permanent Stay The distributors (UA and UI) ask for a permanent injunction to be issued enforcing the Meadow Glen and Julian Rifkin from (a) combining and conspiring among themselves or with any other exhibitor to restrain trade and commerce in exhibition and distribution, and (b) from combining among themselves or with any other exhibitor to boycott or refuse to license the motion picture of any distributor or to refrain jointly from negotiating with any other exhibitor. Rifkin Management Company operates eight drive-ins in New England, the Meadow Glen, Medford; the Quintree, Braintree; the Wareham, Wareham; the Cod, Falmouth, all in Mass., and the Pike, Johnston and the Shipyard, Providence in R. L, and the Lisbon, Lewiston, Maine. Size of Screen Cited In the countersuit filed by the Twin Drive-in, they first deny the allegations in the original Meadow Glen suit, claiming the Meadow Glen is fully capable of competing favorably with the Twin, as the Meadow Glen's screen is larger than either of the Twin screens. They ask the allega from page 1) tions be barred, because, as it states in the complaint, the Meadow Glen, in the operation of its own drive-in theatre has restrained and conspired with others to restrain and monopolize trade in Medford and other New England cities. Says Rifkins Sought Acquisition The Twin also claims that the Rifkins sought to block the Twin from obtaining the necessary approval from the Medford Board of Appeals in building the theatre and that after construction, the Rifkins sought to acquire the purchase or lease on it, and later sought to persuade the owners of the Twin to pool their operations so the Rifkins could have management control to be able to use their buying power with their seven other drive-ins. The complaint goes on to state that the Rifkin management sought to dissuade distributors from selling pictures to the Twin by threatening not to buy a picture for some or all of their drive-ins unless the distributor sold it to the Meadow Glen. About competitive bidding, the complaint charges that the Rifkins, threatened to demand competitive bidding when the Twin had just opened and was at a disadvantage, but that later, when it became established, the Rifkins objected to the distributors' granting of competitive bidding and tried to pressure the Twin to abandon bidding to enter into a "splitting of product," threatening the distributors with legal action if they granted the Twin the right to obtain pictures under competitive bidding. Ask $50,000 Damages The owners of the Twin claim they have been injured in their business and property and have been forced to pay higher film rentals. They are asking for damages of $50,000 which would be trebled. The Meadow Glen was built in 1954 and is operated by Rifkin Management Company, Julian Rifkin, president. The Medford Twin Drivein was built two years later and is situated two miles from the Meadow Glen. The Twin is operated by Winthrop Knox, Jr. and Lloyd Clark, both of Maiden. Special Hotel Rates For Allied Convention Special to THE DAILY MILWAUKEE, Oct. 7-Special low rates, full American plan, have been obtained from the Eden Roc Hotel in Miami Beach for delegates and guests to the convention of Allied States Ass'n. Dec. 7, 8, and 9., it was reported here by Ben Marcus, convention general chairman. The special low rates will also prevail immediately prior to the convention and immediately after it so as to afford the delegates the opportunity of lengthening their stay should they desire to combine a Florida vacation with the convention, he added. Ask Speed-Up of S. C. j 'Blue Law' Hearing Special to THE DAILY SPARTANBURG, S.C., Oct. 7-Thi South Carolina Supreme Court hal been requested by Attorney Genera) Dan McLeod to hear the so-callec "blue law" case as soon as possible anc1 to end the temporary restraining ordej prohibiting officers from enforcing such "blue laws" in counties wher< they exist. A number of motion picture theatre' owners, mostly in the upper sectiorj of the state, are listed in court actioi as petitioners in a brief filed before the Supreme Court to speed action ir this controversial case. The case in question reached the Supreme Court when a Federal district court earlier declined to rule on it Reason given by the three-judge fed' eral tribunal was that the case hac not yet been ruled on by the state court. The state supreme court, acting in original jurisdiction, now has before it a brief filed by the state attorney-gen:' eral asking that the court "not issue a permanent injunction against officers' restraining them from enforcement of laws relating to operation of motion picture theatres on Sunday." Camera Mart Displays New Extension Plate A new device described as making1' possible the editing of two separate" sound tracks, speech and background!1 music, with one compact instrument; is being displayed this week by the' Camera Mart, Inc., at the equipment? show of the Society of Motion and," Television Engineers here. The display! is in booth 36 at the Statler Hilton" Hotel. I The new device is called the Camarq' add-a-unit extension plate. Also onf display at the SMPTE booth of Camera Mart are a baby dolly, dual| reader, core dispensers, TV matte for|" Moviola, optical effects unit, andl others. Company personnel at the? booth includes Irving Browning, Sam-i uel Hyman, and Paul Meistrich. Denver Wompi Honored ; For Community Service Special to THE DAILY DENVER, Oct. 7.-Denver chapterj, of WOMPIS were honor guests at aj tea given by the Women's Club oft Denver here. The affair was in recog ■ nition of the philanthropic and com-i munity service work accomplished by. the WOMPIS in the past year through their Holy Ghost Youth Center. Denver WOMPIS were awarded the Service Award by the National \ Chapter at their convention held recently. . Roxy Books 'LibeV Metro Goldwyn Mayer's "Libel,"1 which co-stars Olivia de Havillandi; and Dirk Bogarde, will be the next at) traction at the Roxy Theatre here, following the run of "The Man Who Un-s derstood Women." FILMACK SPECIAL TRAILERS 1327 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago 5, III.