The Exhibitor (1956)

8 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR Balaban Sees Regards Theatre Drop-Off As Transitory; Sees Pay-TV Outlook More Promising, May Launch Closed Circuit Trial New York — Paramount stockholders at their annual meeting last week at the heme office were informed by Barney Balaban, president, that the 1956 secondquarter earnings could reach a record second-quarter high despite recent ad¬ verse market trends. He told the meeting, which marked the 20th year of his service as Paramount’s president, that receipts of non-recurring profits realized during this period would be responsible for the possible new high. Paramount’s earnings for 1955, Balaban said, “show the highest net profit and operating revenue since the new com¬ pany began its operations in 1950. The 1955 operating revenue of $114,000,000 represented an increase of almost five per cent over that of 1954, and the net profits of $9,700,000 more than maintained that percentage of improvement over the net profits of the preceding year. “Our earnings for the first quarter of 1956,” he informed the stockholders, “were the highest first quarter earnings since the inception of the corporation except for the first quarter of 1955 when con¬ solidated net earnings were $2,858,000. Our estimated consolidated net earnings for the first quarter of 1956 were re¬ ported as $1,722,000 representing 80 cents per share, which included 16 cents per share profit on the installment sale of film shorts.” Balaban said he regarded the recent drop-off in theatre business as probably being transitory. He described the period as one of transition, and held that even today “a soundly conceived production can overcome adverse market trends and do extremely well at the boxoffice.” He was high on the prospects of “The Ten Commandments” and “War And Peace” and also discussed other coming features. Balaban said that it will be the policy of the company to continue to purchase shares of its stock for retirement. He said that the company would “continue to re¬ duce the number of our outstanding shares to the point where our dividend rate would be reasonably safe — regardless of the normal vicissitudes of the business.” Paramount’s progress in the electronic field, including the activities of Chro¬ matic Television Laboratories and In¬ ternational Telemeter Corporation, also were discussed. “We believe,” he said, “that developing economic factors make the outlook for pay TV more promising than ever. While awaiting the attention of the Federal Communications Commission, work pro¬ ceeds in perfecting the system, adding to its convenience of operation and re¬ ducing its cost. International Telemeter is now considering a number of situations that have been presented for the inaugu¬ ration of closed-circuit pay-as-you-see TV. The latter do not require F.C.C. approval and could well be the basis for Record Paramount Quarter Nine States Studying Tax Program Revision New York — Robert W. Coyne, special counsel for COMPO, reported last week that taxation study committees to consider possible revisions in state revenue laws have been appointed in at least nine states. He advised exhibitors and other industry representatives to familiarize themselves with the work of these committees and to guard against the possibility of their recommending legislation inimical to the interests of the motion picture industry. establishing the validity of pay tele¬ vision.” Balaban invited the stockholders to see a color television demonstration of the Chromatic tube and set at the conclusion of the meeting. “We have good reason to believe . . . we will be able to offer to the industry a color television set which can be sold to the public at a price below $400 per set.” All directors were reelected. For the second straight year Balaban received the annual award of the United Shareholders of America for “meritorious achievement in the field of management -shareholder relationship.” “Exhibitors and distribution regional representatives should be particularly alert,” Coyne said, “to prevent the intro¬ duction of enabling acts permitting municipalities to impose local admission taxes where they do not already exist. They also should oppose suggestions for high license fees or other imposts which would be a financial burden to exhibitor and distributors. If any legislation adverse to the motion picture industry is sug¬ gested at public or private hearings of these committees, industry representa¬ tives should ask for an opportunity to present testimony in opposition to such adverse suggestions before the committees make their reports. Exhibitors in well organized states and localities need no prodding from COMPO. Organization in some areas, however, is almost nil and in those areas local levies can be a great danger.” A summary of the tax studies now in progress, compiled by COMPO, lists the affected states as Alabama, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oregon, and Texas. AUTHORSHIP OF THE CODE While it seems to be pretty much warmed-over stew, and of little interest to anyone else in these days when the motion picture industry is struggling to level off and rebuild sagging national admissions sales, a contemporary trade paper keeps hacking away at the recorded facts of Production Code authorship as told in his autobiography by dying Father Daniel A. Lord, S.J. In recent issues of Motion Picture Daily and of Motion Picture Herald, it has been found expedient to reprint a current letter, as originally published in “AMERICA,” the Catholic magazine, because the letter, while not documented with dates and places, and depending solely on “by guess and by gosh” of 26 years ago, tends to cast doubt on Father Lord’s authorship. However, it was not found expedient to reprint a letter similarly published in “AMERICA” on April 14, in which Father Austin G. Schmidt, S.J., director of Loyola University Press of Chicago, specifically answered an earlier letter from the publisher of Motion Picture Daily, and of Motion Picture Herald, assuring him that Father Lord had kept “unusually complete records.” Father Schmidt also assured him that the original (Code) typing still exists “with longhand alterations and additions.” It would certainly seem that if any reasonable doubts of authorship exist, more reliance should be placed on a study of handwriting experts than on any 26year-old memory of a luncheon conversation. Just to help the record along, for the sake of future historians, we would like to direct Motion Picture Daily’s, and Motion Picture Herald’s attention to P. 733 of the 1948-49 MOTION PICTURE ALMANAC (a Quigley Publication) where, under the heading, “The Origin of the Production Code,” it states as follows: “Rev. Daniel A. Lord, S.J., of St. Louis, a trained moralist with an interest in the theatre, was invited into conference and active collaboration. Father Lord prepared a draft to which Mr. Quigley applied various contributions and modifications.” We would then like to draw the same attention to P. 838 of the 1952-53 MOTION PICTURE ALMANAC (a Quigley Publication) where, under the same heading, “The Origin of the Production Code,” the first sentence of the above quote (and several complete paragraphs not quoted) is reprinted verbatim; but the second sentence: “Father Lord prepared a draft, etc.” (and another reference to a Father Dineen who is also recorded by Father Lord) is deleted, and an innocuous substitution made. We wish we could pinpoint this deletion a little more tightly, but we don’t have the intervening issues on hand. It seems pretty certain, however, that MOTION PICTURE ALMANAC (a Quigley Publication) permitted Father Lord to be the author of the Production Code, and Father Dineen to be a collaborator, for at least the first 20 years of the Code’s existence. Do you think that after that, in some way, they lost their turn? They certainly disappeared from the lineup! In any event, this isn’t hearsay or a friendly quote. This is just the way a Quigley Publication recorded it! — P. J. G. June 13, 1956