The Exhibitor (1954)

8 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR CAN NEWS (Trade Headlines Of The Issue) Latest Bulletins (Developments At Deadline) Corporate Speaking at the annual meeting, Barney Balaban, president, Paramount Pictures, hopes for standards in the technical divi¬ sion (page 15). Exhibition In New York City, although exhibitors put up a banner battle, City Council and the Board of Estimate both approved the proposed five per cent municipal tax levy, with the mayor’s signature expected; how¬ ever, the door was left open so that per¬ haps the buck could be passed to the state legislature and the Republicans to do something about it (page 9). Financial Walt Disney’s report for a six-month period indicates a healthy increase in profit (page 8). Warner Brothers Pictures indicates $1,618,000 profit for six months (page 15). Columbia shows greater profit for 89 weeks (page 19). International In Canada, the Ontario industry is in¬ vestigating the tax situation, while in Saskatchewan revisions of regulations as regards projectionists have come into effect (page 10). Ben Smith, well-known as a distribu¬ tion executive in the United States, joins MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR in a representative capacity in Canada (page 10). Legal National Theatres gets the court’s okeh on its investment in Magna Theatre Cor¬ poration (page 20). Mel Konecoff The fight against the proposed five per cent municipal tax in New York City is covered, and he also has time to comment on a situation in a company advertising and publicity department (page 18). Organizations 20th-Fox President Spyros Skouras is given an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters (page 9). Production Alexander Korda announces the nine features which he intends to make in 18 months (page 20). Technical The MP Research Council sends on recommendations on sizes for optical CinemaScope projection (page 18). Paul Raibourn sees the boxoffice TV situation “ripening” (page 18). 20th Century-Fox is scheduling a series of new CinemaScope demonstrations (page 9). The first of a series of screenings of Colombia's "On The Waterfront" in New York City recently was attended by, left to right, Sam Spiegel, producer; Leonard Bernstein, who handled the film's musical score; Father John A. Corridan, New York priest, active for many years in the struggle to bring justice to the dock workers; Malcolm Johnson, whose Pulitier prize-winning series of articles inspired the film; and Budd Schulberg, the veteran author of the screen play. NE W YORK By Mel Konecoff WE WENT DOWN to City Hall the other day to witness the battle the indus¬ try was putting up to save itself from a local five per cent tax on admissions and found most of the in¬ dustry on hand in the person of home office workers and execu¬ tives, managers, as¬ sistants, division man¬ agers, ushers, matrons, cleaners, projectionists, and stagehands march¬ ing around City Hall with placards stating their case and cause. Coverage on what was taking place in¬ side, where Councilmen were hearing the pleas of industry leaders as a finance committee will be found elsewhere in this issue, but on the outside there were mixed feelings as scores of police were on hand to keep order and to prepare for the reception of Emperor Haile Selessie. Those to whom we spoke had varying views, most feeling that the tax was as good as law. Some said they even had heard that the tax forms were already printed and would be ready in time for the date of execution, June 15, and that the hearing was just a form that the city was going through, but that it didn’t mean anything. A band of interested musicians from Local 802 was on hand with such tunes as “There’s No Business Like Show Busi¬ ness” and “East Side, West Side” and others to keep tired feet going, while trucks of vendors and suppliers circled the square with huge signs urging that the tax be killed. The Tribune, across the way from City Hall, was both head¬ quarters and resting place for weary marchers. The meeting inside droned on ( Continued on page 18) Disney Earnings Show Strong 6-Mos. Profit Los Angeles— Earnings of Walt Disney Productions in the first half of the current fiscal year substantially exceeded those of the corresponding period last year, and continued profitable operations are ex¬ pected during the next six months, President Roy O. Disney stated in a letter to shareholders. Consolidated net profit for the six months ended on April 3, 1954, was $283,662, equal to 43 cents a share on the 652,840 common shares outstanding. This compared with $142,723, equal to 22 cents a share in the first half of the 1953 fiscal year. Malkin-Einfeld New York — Lise Einfeld, daughter of Charles Einfeld, 20th-Fox vice-president, and Mrs. Einfeld, will become the bride of Richard Malkin, son of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Malkin, of Brooklyn and Westport, Conn., at the Einfeld home on June 11. The bride was graduated from Smith College this week. The groom, a graduate of Yale and the Harvard School of Busi¬ ness Administration, is with the J. Walter Thompson media department. The couple will sail for a European honeymoon on the SS United States. Hal Danson, Veteran, Named To NSS Ad. Post New York — Hal Danson has been ap¬ pointed director of advertising, publicity, and TV for National Screen Service Cor¬ poration, Herman Robbins, president, an¬ nounced last week. Danson has served as trailer production head at Paramount Studios, Paramount assistant national advertising manager, and advertising manager, Eagle-Lion. He has resigned as general sales manager, Adler Communications Laboratories, in which position he served the past two and one-half years. "GWTW" Still Making New Boxoffice Records New York — The opening of “Gone With The Wind” at Loew’s State and reports from San Francisco and Atlanta indicate that the MGM release is headed for new records its fifth time around. At Loew’s State, “GWTW” exceeded the combined gross of the original opening at the Capi¬ tol and Astor in four days. Loew’s Warfield, San Francisco, reported that the first four days topped every film but one or two, including the original run in 1939. At Loew’s Grand, Atlanta, the picture topped all other “GWTW” openings with the exception of the grand premiere in 1939. It's A Boy! Santa Monica, Cal. — Comedian Lou Costello became a grandfather for the first time when a son was born to his daughter, Mrs. Patricia Ann Cardinet. June 9, 1954