The Exhibitor (1955)

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MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 11 Kingsley To Supervise Columbia Foreign Unit New York — The forthcoming appoint¬ ment of Edward L. Kingsley, Kingsley In¬ ternational, as chief of a special organiza¬ tion to handle the distribution of foreign product in this country will be officially announced by Columbia within the next month, it was reported last week. Kings¬ ley, currently attending the Venice Film Festival, will take over his new post on his return from Italy, retaining at the same time his association with the for¬ eign film importing firm. The new organization would handle foreign motion pictures in a manner simi¬ lar to that in which a U-I department handles the U. S. distribution of J. Arthur Rank product. Foreign films acquired by Columbia through co-production agree¬ ments in other countries would not be included in the regular Columbia release set-up, it was noted. The recent'y ac¬ quired Japanese production of “Seven Samurai” would fall into this category. The physical distribution would, never¬ theless, be channeled through the com¬ pany’s domestic exchanges. Tax Amendment Offered Washington — An offer to sponsor legis¬ lation in Congress to eliminate the re¬ maining 10 per cent federal excise tax on movie tickets was made to exhibition last fortnight by Representative Frank Thomp¬ son, Jr., Trenton, N. J., who has pending a bill for introduction next January to eradicate the legitimate theatre ticket levy. He voted in favor of last year’s revenue amendment which wiped out the tax on film tickets under 50 cents, and halved it on others. In the bill introduced a few months ago, and shelved until next year, only legiti¬ mate theatre boxoffiees figure, but but Thompson said that there is no advantage, from the standpoint of “art promotion,” whether “Julius Caesar” is produced on a Broadway stage or on a Hollywood set. He said that the film admissions were not included in the pending bill because ex¬ hibitors had not requested it, but that an amendment can be prepared if theatre operators present a case for it. AA Profit Rise Forecast New York — Allied Artists will show an increase in gross sales and in net profit for the fiscal year ended July 31, it was predicted last fortnight by a reliable Wall Street source. An annual report will be issued shortly, it was expected. It will be the fourth consecutive year in which AA has increased its sa’es volume, and the third in which profits have climbed. In the 1953-1954 fiscal year, the company’s gross was $11,838,526, with a net of $414,480, equal to 46 cents per share. Walsh Advises Moderation Hollywood — Richard F. Walsh, lATSE president, meeting with union business agents last week, suggested scaling down locals’ demands in situations where they might be considered excessive in negotia¬ tions with major studios. Discussions are on an individual union basis, and a gen¬ eral lATSE pact will be negotiated later. Executives and stars helped to make the recent opening of the new U-I Los Angeles exchange a memorable occasion. Among those present were, left to right, F. T. Murray, branch operations man¬ ager; Morrie Weiner, industry relations head; actor George Nader (seated); production vice-president Edward Muhl; branch manager Abe Swordlow (seated); president, Milton R. Rackmil; Charles J. Feldman, vice-president and general sales manager; actress Kathleen Case; Barney Rose, district sales manager; and N. J. Blumberg, chairman of the board. SBA Extends Helping Hand To Exhibitors In Disaster Areas WASHINGTON— The Small Business Administration extended a help¬ ing hand last week to exhibitors in six states hard-hit by the torrential rains and floods following in the wake of Hurricane Diane. The SBA moved swiftly to open temporary loan offices to supplement regional offices. The temporary offices included Kingston and Port Jervis, N. Y., Hackettstown, N. J.; Torrington, Waterbury, and Putnam, Conn.; Wor¬ cester and Springfield, Mass.; and Woonsocket, R. I. The regional offices of SBA are in New York, Boston, Hartford, Newark, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse. There is no limit on the amount of the loans, which bear three per cent interest, and may run up to ten years. Oil Wells Highlight 20th-Fox Fiscal Data New York — Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation and wholly-owned subsidi¬ aries last week reported consolidated earnings of $2,790,800 for the 26 weeks ended June 25, 1955. This amounted to $1.06 per share on the 2,644,486 shares of common stock outstandings, as compared with earnings for the 26 weeks of 1954 of $3,096,545, or $1.17 per share on the same number of shares. The earnings for the second quarter ended June 25, 1955, amounted to $1,366,989, equal to $.52 per share, as com¬ pared with $1,048,515 for the second quar¬ ter of 1954, equal to $.40 per share. The earnings for the first quarter of 1955 were $1,423,811, or $.54 per share. Spyrcs P. Skouras, president, reported that six producing wells have been suc¬ cessfully completed on the studio property, and that connecting pipe lines for both oil and gas production are in the process of completion. Doob Named To Board New York — Oscar A. Doob, advertis¬ ing and public relations executive with Loew’s, Inc., was elected last week to the board of directors of the American News Company, according to announcement by Henry Garfinkle, president. Paramount Considers 'Commandments Policy New York — A special pre-release policy for Paramount’s forthcoming Cecil B. De Mille spectacular, “The Ten Com¬ mandments,” along the lines established by Cinerama, was being investigated last week by the film company’s distribution heads, it was reported. The Cinerama ex¬ hibition system, it was pointed out, indi¬ cates one avenue for achieving, over an extended period, the $100 million world gross target set for the picture by produc¬ tion vice-president Y. Frank Freeman. Bound by the consent decree. Para¬ mount would require a Department of Justice go-ahead to take over four-wall houses in key cities for “Ten Command¬ ments” engagements in the Cinerama pat¬ tern. However, distribution thinking on the release policy has not yet reached definite stages and no approaches have been made to the government. The Justice Department, however, was expected to recognize the Cinerama method should Paramount determine to press it into service. The De Mille production is reported to have reached a cost close to $10 million, and will not be ready for release until late next year, probably. Shooting has been completed, but there are a number of retakes to be made in addition to the regular editing of the film. “Gone With The Wind,” it was noted, is still the alltime top grosser, now nearing the $50 million mark in the world-wide market. Bergher Upped At Columbia New York — Following a meeting of the board of directors of Columbia Pictures International Corporation last week, Lacy W. Kastner, president, announced the election of Michael Bergher, Far Eastern supervisor, as one of the company’s vicepresidents. Bergher started with Columbia in 1934 as manager of Japan and in 1941 trans¬ ferred to Puerto Rico as manager. Barnett Heads Adverstats New York — Former RKO Theatres’ art director Herman Barnett last week an¬ nounced the Aug. 29 official cpening of Adverstats, Inc., of which he is president. The new firm offers a complete photostat service devoted to the advertising art industry, under Barnett’s direction. August 31, 1955