The Exhibitor (1954)

MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR •a Gothamites Wage Losing Anti -Tax Fight B'way Holds Own With Holdovers New York — Business in the Broadway first-runs held steady over the weekend and with ail holdovers on display the strength of the product evidently offset any after holiday letup. According to usually reliable sources reaching Motion Picture Exhibitor, the breakdown was as follows: “DIAL M FOR MURDER” (Warners). Paramount claimed $40,000 for the second session. “THREE COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN” (20th-Fox). Roxy reported $39,775 for Fri¬ day, Saturday, and Sunday, with the third week bound to top $71,000. “EXECUTIVE SUITE” (MGM) . Radio City Music Hall, with stage show, re¬ ported $80,000 for Thursday through Sun¬ day with the fifth week heading toward $125,000. “THE FRENCH LINE” (RKO) . Criter¬ ion expected the fourth week to do $22,000. “THE BAREFOOT BATTALION” (Brandt Associates). Globe dropped to $8,000 on the second, and last, week with this Greek import. “JOHNNY GUITAR” (Republic). Mayfair claimed the second week would tally $25,000. “ELEPHANT WALK” (Paramount) . Astor expected the seventh week to reach $13,000. “KNOCK ON WOOD” (Paramount). Capitol claimed $23,000 for eighth week. “SECRET OF THE INCAS” (Para¬ mount). Victoria reported $18,000 for the second week. “GONE WITH THE WIND” (MGM). Loew’s State, where this reissue hit $76,000 on the first week, was heading toward $70,000 for the second session. C'Scope One-Tracks Scheduled New York — Twentieth Century-Fox will deliver one CinemaScope picture a week on 11 productions in one-track magnetic and one-track optical sound starting on June 19 with “The Robe,” A1 Lichtman, director of distribution, announced last fortnight. Single magnetic and regular optical prints will be provided as follows — “The Robe,” June 19; “How To Marry A Mil¬ lionaire,” 26; “Night People,” July 3; “Prince Valiant,” 10; “Hell And High Water,” 17; “Three Coins In The Foun¬ tain” and “New Faces,” 24; “River Of No Return,” 31; “King Of The Khyber Rifles,” Aug. 7; “Garden Of Evil,” 14; “Beneath The 12-Mile Reef,” 21; and “Demetrius And The Gladiators,” 28. Advertising accessories and four trail¬ ers will support the release. Skouras Given Degree New York — Spyros P. Skouras, presi¬ dent, 20th Century-Fox, last week was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from New York Medical College at its 96th annual commencement ceremonies. Skouras also delivered the commencement address, and was chosen to emphasize New York Medical College’s credo that a professional man should be a well-rounded citizen actively interested in community affairs. New York City Fathers Turn Deaf Ear To Facts Offered By Industry; Buck Being Passed to State Govt. New York — The proposed five per cent local amusement tax, which threatens to darken at least 80 theatres, reached Mayor Robert Wagner’s desk last week, twothirds along the way to becoming a law. City Council passed the measure by a vote of 22 to 3 and the Board of Estimate followed suit. Mayor Wagner must wait at least five days after receiving the measure before holding public hearings. Council unanimously passed a companion measure exempting night clubs and caba¬ rets from the tax as they still pay the full 20 per cent federal levy. The measure was made effective on July 1 instead of June 15, with city officials explaining that this was done to leave room for repeal if the state comes to the fiscal aid of New York City making the amusement tax unneces¬ sary. Wagner’s administration contends that the amusement tax is necessary because of unfair fiscal treatment from Governor Thomas Dewey and the State Legislature. State Controller J. Raymond McGovern stated that there was no need for the city to pass any new tax measures to balance the budget, but city officials rapped the statement, calling it an attempt to inject politics into New York’s fiscal situation. Council’s affirmative action followed a report by the finance committee urging passage of the tax measure. Robert W. Coyne, COMPO special counsel, warned the City Council finance committee at its open hearing on the tax proposal that passage of the five per cent levy would force more than 80 additional theatres to close and cost the city an estimated $2,000,000 in various tax reve¬ nue. The city receives more than $7,000,000 from various taxes paid by the motion picture industry and this would be cut considerably should marginal houses be forced to close. More than 100 representa¬ tives of the amusement industries and other interested groups requested speaking time at the open hearing, which had Ed¬ ward A. Cunningham, Bronx Democrat, as chairman. INDEX Volume 52, Number 6 June 9, 1954 Section One Editorial . 7 New York By Mel Konecoff . 8 The International Scene . 10 This Was The Week When 15 People . 18 In The Newsreels 22 The Score Board . 22 Feature Article— “WB-Trade Host” 24, 25 Better Management 26 Studio Survey SS-1 — SS4 Section Two The Servisection . SS-1 — SS-8 20th-Fox Scheduling CScope Demonstrations NEW YORK — Plans are nearing completion to hold a series of trade and press demonstrations shortly of an important filmed progress report on CinemaScope and stereophonic sound in every exchange city in the United States and Canada, 20th Cen¬ tury-Fox announced last week. Demonstrations will be arranged so as to rotate five prints on a five -city day-and-date basis covering all ex¬ change areas within a period of 10 days. Harry Brandt, ITOA president and cir¬ cuit head, pointed out to councilmen the names of closed houses in each senatorial district and stated that an estimated 850,000 persons had signed petitions asking them to kill this “unfair tax.” Brandt emphasized that closed theatres hurt all other merchants, resulting in a lowering of real estate values, and pointed out that other cities have cut assessments on the¬ atre properties. He said Council was threatening to destroy an already dis¬ tressed industry to raise one-quarter of one per cent of New York’s billion dollar budget. The veteran exhibitor declared that if the bill is passed, the industry will carry its fight to Albany. Coyne reviewed the federal tax fight, emphasizing that the industry had told Congress many houses would have to keep the saving to stay in business. With re¬ cent technical advances giving the exhibi¬ tor a chance to fight for his life, this new threat could be disastrous, he remarked. He emphasized that unlike motion pictures in other countries, the U. S. industry asks no subsidies but only the same oppor¬ tunity afforded other industries, the right to stay in business. George Murphy, MGM star and three times past president, Screen Actors Guild, also spoke against the tax, pointing out that producers on the west coast as well as actors would be severely hurt if New York, the industry’s main showcase, was to lose another block of theatres. Herman Gelber, president, Local 306, said that some 100 theatres would be forced into darkness if the measure is passed, throwing thousands of New York¬ ers out of work. Samuel Rinzler, Randforce Theatres, making his first City Hall appearance in his half-century industry career, offered the committee a list of his theatres which would be forced to shutter if the bill is passed. Others speaking in opposition to the measure included Ralph Bellamy, presi¬ dent, Actors’ Equity and Chorus Equity Association; Tom Murtha, chairman, 10th district, Theatrical Locals, New York State, Local 4; and John McDowell, secre¬ tary, Local 1, as well as representatives of many other interests. All speakers de¬ clared that taxes should be equitable and levied upon those who could survive them. ( Continued on page 18) June 9, 1954