The Exhibitor (1960)

U-l Earnings Soar After Previous Loss Gov't Asked To Speed Prosecution As Block Booking Case Creeps Along NEW YORK — Judge Archie O. Dawson stated in Federal Court that if the Govern¬ ment would speed up its case and only call a dozen witnesses instead of its announced 126, it would have a better chance of winning its “block booking” suit against six motion picture and television companies. He criticized Department of Justice anti¬ trust attorneys for “cluttering” the record, belaboring minor points, and generally fail¬ ing to expedite their case with enough speed to please the court. The Judge suggested that one witness from each TV station would be sufficient, but Leonard Posner, chief govern¬ ment counsel, countered by stating he will require corroborative testimony from various personnel of the same companies. The Government charges in the yearsold suit that TV stations across the country were “block booked” with product by C & C Super Corporation, Screen Gems, National Telefilm Associates, United Artists, Associated Artists Productions, and Loew’s Inc. (MGM). Judge Dawson voiced the opinion that the Government case has been “improperly pre¬ pared” and demanded that Posner “stop fencing around.” Commenting on a statement made by Ewell K. Jett, WMAR-TV, the Baltimore Sun sta¬ tion, that “‘we do not ask for renegotiation, but if this trial results in renegotiation we want to get on the gravy train,” Judge Dawson commented that buyers of old theatrical features for television had better not count on “a gravy train.” So far all witnesses said that to get pic¬ tures they wanted for their TV programs their stations also had to buy stuff they did oot desire. Y.C.I. Honors Podoloff MINNEAPOLIS — Joseph Podoloff, Variety International regional representative and immediate past chief barker. Variety Club of the Northwest, was honored at a dinner last week at the Hotel Pick-Nicollet. Charles Winchell, president, Minnesota Amusement Company, was chairman and toastmaster. The dinner marked Podoloff’s 25 years as an active Variety member. He was chairman of the original charity committee which led to the construction of the Variety Club Heart Hospital at the University of Minne¬ sota. George W. Eby, Pittsburgh, Variety Inter¬ national chief barker, and Edward Shafton, Omaha, International board member, were the principal speakers. Telemeter Names Winik NEW YORK — Louis A. Novins, president of International Telemeter Company, a divi¬ sion of Paramount Pictures Corporation, an¬ nounced the appointment of Leslie Winik as a vice-president of International Telemeter. Winik started in the motion picture indus¬ try as a film distributor with home offices in London and branches throughout the world. He also has owned and operated several theatres in London. In 1939, he founded Official Films, Inc., which became the “Official Motion Picture Photographers” of the New York World’s Fair. He produced over 50 films for seven¬ teen foreign governments, as well as a vari¬ ety of industrial films. Si Fabian Elected M.P. Pioneers' President NEW YORK — Si Fabian, president of Stanley Warner Corp., was elected presi¬ dent of the Motion Picture Pioneers for a two-year term. He succeeds Ned Depinet. Fabian, who began his motion picture career in 1914, is also president of Fabian Theatre^ and chairman of the American Congress of Exhibitors. The board of directors of the Motion Pic¬ ture Pioneers also reelected the following: Marvin Kirsch, vice-president; William J. German, treasurer; and George F. Dembow, secretary. Registering a vote of thanks to Depinet for his untiring efforts as president, the board tabled proposals for increasing its numbers until a future meeting. Writers Strike TV Firms HOLLYWOOD— The Writers Guild of America last week directed members who write free lance scripts for films television to strike against the broadcasting networks. Also hit will be two network subsidiaries, CBS Film Sales and NBC’s California Na¬ tional Productions. This strike order will extend the film TV walkout which began on Jan. 16 against the Alliance of Television Film Producers and the major studios producing TV pic¬ tures. Not affected by the strike will be staff news and continuity writers or free lancers oper¬ ating under the WGA’s radio or live-TV contracts. At issue is a demand by the writers for payment for foreign use as well as increased payment for domestic re-runs of TV film shows. Pay TV is not an issue. WASHINGTON— Allied States Associa¬ tion of Motion Picture Exhibitors in a bul¬ letin issued last week analyzing the Holly¬ wood strike of the Screen Actor’s Guild and the Writers’ Guild suggests that the exhibi¬ tors of the country have a greater right to claim a share of “the loot when post ’48 pic¬ tures are sold to television.” The bulletin suggests that theatremen have a better case than the labor organizations. The films were produced specifically for showing in their theatres. If the theatres had not been there to exhibit them the pictures would not have been made and the writers, actors, technicians and laborers would not have been hired. The producers would have remained in whatever business they were in before and would not have grown wealthy on film rentals.” The bulletin continues, “If the strike is successful and the films are sold, everybody stands to gain but the exhibitors, who, to¬ gether, constitute the Atlas that has carried the industry through the years. If the exhibi¬ tors are left out when the spoils are divided, a great wrong will be done. But it will be NEW YORK — Universal Pictures Com¬ pany, Inc., reported net earnings of $1,857,039 for the 13 weeks ended Jan. 30. This figure is after provision of $1,875,000 for Fed¬ eral income taxes. After dividends on pre¬ ferred stock, earnings are equal to $2.03 per common share on 893,390 shares outstanding. Universal the same period of last year sus¬ tained a loss of $864,575 on ordinary opera¬ tions, amounting to 98 cents per share, after preferred stock dividend provision, on 927,254 common shares then outstanding. Loss was exclusive of a profit of $3,676,510 net of taxes on the sale of the Universal studios. Meanwhile, Decca Records, Inc., which in its report for 1959 consolidates for the first time the results of Universal Pictures Com¬ pany, Inc., had a net profit for the year of $2,321,923, equal to $1.81 per common share. On a comparable basis, Dacca’s consoli¬ dated net income in 1958 was $2,776,382, equal to $1.82 per share. Outstanding shares on Dec. 31, 1959 totaled 1,285,701, compeu-ed with 1,527,401 on Dec. 31, 1958. Income for 1958, it was pointed out, included a non-re¬ curring capital gain on the sale by Universal of its studio facilities. Decca oAvns 777,985 shares or 87.1 per cent of Universal common, and with Universal’s fiscal year ended on Oct. 31, the Decca report for 1959 includes U’s results for the 10 months to that date, and the first two months of the film company’s 1959-1960 operations. Intense competition and the upward trend of costs affected earnings of Decca’s record division in 1959, Milton R. Rackmil, presi¬ dent, explained, but he said there has been some improvement since the beginning of the current year, including greater repre¬ sentation on the lists of best-selling records. Dccea’s annual meeting will be held at the home office on April 12, at which time management will propose reelection of the present board of directors, which comprise Rackmil, Leonard W. Schneider, Martin P. Salkin, Albert A. Gartwaite, Harold I. Thorp, and H. R. Vallance. more than a mere act of omission. The ex¬ hibitors will not merely suffer the loss of something they never had and never ex¬ pected to receive. The act that makes a divi¬ sion of the spoils possible— the sale of the films to television — will deal the exhibitors a stunning blow from which many will not recover. “Not having the protection of our indul¬ gent labor laws,” the bulletin points out, “the exhibitors can not call a strike (i.e. a nation-wide boycott of films). And if legally unobjectionable, it would be impossible to persuade all exhibitors to act in unison. To be fair, we should concede that some who might like to join in such a movement could not do so because the moment they close their theatres their income ceases. There are no strike benefits for businessmen. Never¬ theless, with equities greater than other parties to the strike, spokesmen should not hesitate to advance the exhibitors’ claims. Parties to the strike should be advised that exhibitors must be included in the division of the proceeds of any sale of post-1948 pictures to TV ...” Cxhibs Deserve Share Of Residuals, Allied Claims In Analysis Of Strike March 23, I960 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR II