The Exhibitor (1954)

MOTION PICTURE EXHIBIT TOA Finance Group Invites AA Negotiates Loan To Spur Production Hollywood — Announcement was made last week by Steve inroidy, president, and George D. Burrows, executive vicepresident and treasurer. Allied Artists, oi the signing ot a new one-year loan agreement with the Security-First Na¬ tional Bank of Los Angeles, Hollywood, Gal., and participated in oy the Bankers irust Company, l\ew 'icork City. iliis new agreement expires Jan. 1, 1956, and proviaes for a revolving loan of a maximum of $l,?50,0OU and also permits guaranties up to $50U,U0U covering bank loans to producers releasing their pic¬ tures through Allied Artists. The previ¬ ous loan arrangement with the same banks allowed borrowing up to a maximum of i.1, 250,000. It was also announced that effective Nov. 26, 1954, a loan agreement was entered into between Allied Artists and DeLuxe Laboratories, Inc., New York, under which agreement DeLuxe Labora¬ tories loaned to Allied Artists $350,000 the principal of which is payable over a five-year period in annual installments of $70,000 each. Broidy and Burrows stated that the proceeds from this new financing would be used principally in the financing of the company’s increased production program. Army Film Problem Discussed New York — Before meeting with De¬ fense Department officials to continue dis¬ cussions about the problem of films re¬ leased to be shown at army camps, E. D. Martin, president, TOA, expressed confi¬ dence last week that the difficulties can be solved in a mutually agreeable fashion. Attending the meeting with Martin were Walter Reade, Jr., former TOA president; Herman Levy, general counsel; and Morey Goldstein, chairman, sales managers com¬ mittee, MPAA. Martin called the Defense Department officials “most cooperative’’ in discussions dealing with the problems of civilian at¬ tendance at army post theatres, and the releasing problems faced by commercial theatres near army posts. Martin later reported that he had a plan, which he declined to release before its presentation to Defense Department officials, which would, he believed, solve the problem without relegating the service theatres to subsequentrun status or dis¬ turbing any government regulations on the policies of the service theatres. The idea, said Martin, is “to work out a release pattern” meeting with the approval of both the exhibitors and the services. Former Pathe Executive Dies Westport, Conn. — Elmer R. Pearson, former vice-president and general man¬ ager, Pathe Film Exchanges, died last fortnight at the age of 70. He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Frances Woodbury Pearson, and two brothers and two sisters. Spyros r. Sivouras, cenier, presiaenr, j£uin-rox, was recently presented by Simon H. Fabian, left, and Harry Oppenheimer, right, a special award from the American Fund tor Israel Insti¬ tutions in recognition of his leadership on behalf of Israel through the American Fund. Skouras was feted at a dinner concert at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel attended by over 1,000 dignitaries. Faoian, head, Stanley Warner Thea¬ tres, was chairman of the event, while Oppen¬ heimer is a vice-president of the Israel Fund. Hanson Answers Schoeppei Hollywood — Aibert Hanson, trade re¬ lations committee chairman, bCIOA, branded as “untrue” and “a vitriolic at¬ tack on me through the trade papers,” a letter written in mid-December by Sena¬ tor Andrew F. Schoeppei, Repubhcan, Kansas, newly replaced head of the Senate Small Business Monopoly Subcom¬ mittee, which charged Hanson with “com¬ plete falsehood, actual misstatements of fact, and half-truths.” Hanson claims that he never received the Senator’s letter, and accuses the Sen¬ ator of “using invectives to smear rather than to lead to the truth.” Schoeppel’s letter was in reply to a midOctober letter written to the committee in which Hanson charged the committee with refusing “to listen to testimony or consider anything relative to sales.” INDEX Volume 53, Number 11 January 12, 1955 Section One Editorials . 3 New York. By Mel Konecoff 6 The International Scene . 10 This Was The Week . 15 About People . 18 In The Newsreels . 18 Feature Article — “There’s No Busi¬ ness Looks Like Big Business” . 21 Better Management . 24 Extra Profits . EP-1 — EP-6 Section Two The Servisection . SS-1 — SS-8 Feature Reviews: “Target Earth” (Allied Artists) ; “Deadly Game” (Lippert) ; “The Bridges At Toko-Ri” (Paramount) ; “The Americano” (RKO) ; “Quest For The Lost City” (RKO); “The Other Woman” (20th. Fox) ; “Prince Of Players” (20th-Fox) ; “Twelve O-’Clock High” (20th-Fox); “Battle Taxi” (UA) ; “Vera Cruz” (UA) ; “Jail Bait” (Howco). R 7 All Exhibitors Meetings In Central Spots And Prospectus Will Spread Story To Theatremen; SEC Final Approval Seen Near New Y'ohk — Exhibitors throughout the country will be mviteU to pariicipate in me Unancing of tne iheatre Owners Oi /vmerica film nnance company, Nxmoitor’s rum rmanciai Group, inc., via meetings neid in various central points tnrougnout me country and tlirougn a prospectus to be maned to every exnioitor m tne U. b.. It was revealed last week by E. D. Martin, IGA president. Tentative approval of the Security Ex¬ change Commission has been ootamed witn nnal approval due this week as soon as completed applications are hied. Capi¬ talization of the organization will be tor $lu,00U,UUU, with loU,oUO sdares being issued at a par value of $100. It IS expected that the first meeting will take place in St. Louis in the near future, this being a central meeting point for eight states. All of the meetings will have least two finance company directors in attendance. Martin was asked where the former affiliated circuits stood in the overall plan, and he reported that they are supporting the venture morally and are investigating the possibility of physical participation. The EFFG, incidentally, according to its charter, has been permitted to produce and distribute films in addition to financ¬ ing if it is so desired. Martin added that should anything happen to the plans or interfere with the finalization, all monies invested will be returned. Switching to another subject, TOA stated it was willing to meet with Allied on common problems, and that a second letter has been dispatched to Allied presi¬ dent Ben Marcus requesting a meeting. Lichtman Pushes Arbitration New York — A1 Lichtman, distribution director, 20th-Fox, claimed last week that it would be better if the arbitration issue was settled before any allindustry round table conference was called. Lichtman, author of the plan for the conference, said that he thought that arbitration “should be gotten out of the way first.” He indicated that it would be too much of a problem to tackle both projects at the same time. Lichtman noted that lawyers were draw¬ ing up the papers on arbitration, with both sides in agreement on major points, but declined to predict approval of the adoption draft by both sides. The proposal to postpone the round table conference drew opposite reactions from TOA president E. D. Martin and Allied president Ben Marcus. Martin favored the postponement of the conference, while Marcus and Allied gen¬ eral counsel Abram F. Myers labeled Lichtman’s views as “astounding.” Myers declared, “Lichtman’s apparent repudia¬ tion of his own proposal will be most disappointing to independent exhibitors.” January 12, 1955