The Exhibitor (1966)

Warner Bros., Led By "Fair Lady, " Reports Income Increase In Quarter By HENRY L. SHOLLY WILMINGTON, DEL.— Theatre grosses of “My Fair Lady” have been the highest of any achieved by a Warner Bros, motion picture, former Family Court Judge George Tyler Coulson, Wilmington attorney, told Warners stockholders at the annual meeting, for which he was the chairman. Calling it “the most important film” in the company’s history, Judge Coulson said that grosses of “My Fair Lady” are “growing steadily” as it reaches an increasing number of theatres. Consolidated net income of Warners for the first quarter, ended Nov. 27, 1965, was $1,578,000 or 32 cents per share, compared with $1,235,00 or 25 cents per share in the cor¬ responding quarter of the prior year, Judge Coulson announced. “At this time,” he said, “the final results are not available for the second quarter which ends Feb. 27, 1966, but it is anticipated that the net income for the second quarter will be not less than the amount reported for the first quarter.” During the first quarter, film rental in¬ come from theatrical exhibition amounted to $12,903,000; television exhibition $8,529,000; rec¬ ord, music and other income, $6i,198,000; divi¬ dends from foreign subsidiaries not consoli¬ dated, $144,000; and profit from sales of capital assets, $1,000. Corresponding amounts for the quarter end¬ ed Nov. 28, 1964, were $9,573,000, $5,176,000, $4,884,000, $15,000, and $482,000, respectively. Net current assets at Nov. 27, 1965, were $45,517,000, and debt due after one year was $8,961,000, compared with $44,327,000 and $8,483,000 respectively at Aug. 31, 1965. More than 87 per cent of the outstanding 4,877,552 shares were represented at the meet¬ ing, and all but one share of the 4,278,679 shares present voted for reelection of three directors for two year terms. Those reelected are Thomas J. Martin, treasurer, and Robert W. Perkins, counsel, both of whom were pres¬ ent at the meeting, and Waddill Catchings. The remainder of the board members, Jack L. Warner, Albert Warner, Benjamin Kalmenson, Charles Allen, Jr., and Serge Semenenko, whose terms expire in 1967, were not present. Attending the meeting, in addition to Mar¬ tin and Perkins were Richard Lederer, vicepresident in charge of advertising and pub¬ licity; Walter Meihofer, controller and assis¬ tant treasurer; and George Fishman, Warners studio representative in Washington, D. C. In answer to a stockholder’s question, Mei¬ hofer said that the company’s worldwide operations made it impossible to release the November quarter results earlier. Chairman Coulson said, “Our company has great confidence in its present and forthcom¬ ing motion picture releases, its tv programs, and its records and music publishing busi¬ ness.” “Battle of the Bulge” is now in its initial reserved-seat engagements, and “The Great Race” is moving into general release. Warners “Othello” opened on the day of the meeting and was to be presented Feb. 2 and Feb. 3 in some 250 leading theatres throughout the United States and Canada including, Coulson pointed out, the SW Warner, Wil Russell V. Downing, left, who is retiring as president, Radio City Music Hall, New York, was honored recently at a luncheon given by G. S. Eyssell, right, president, Rockefeller Center, Inc., in the West Pent¬ house of the Hilton Hotel. Laurance Rockefeller, center, chairman of the board of directors of Rocke¬ feller Center, Inc., spoke in appreciation of Down¬ ing’s 33 years of service to the organization. Parents Urged To Act MANCHESTER, CONN.— “Don’t expect a theatre manager to be the guardian of your children’s morals,” Allen M. Widem, Hartford Times amusements editor, reminded the women’s group at the Center Church. “Parental responsibility,” he added, “applies as strongly to entertainment as it does to the home. All too often, parents can send their youngsters to theatres not really know¬ ing — perhaps not even caring — what calibre of attraction is playing. It’s up to the parent, not the theatre manager, to determine what film is best seen by what child.” Gen. Cinema Dividend Set BOSTON— The board of General Cinema Corporation declared its 23rd consecutive regular quarterly dividend. Eleven cents per share will be payable March 10 to share¬ holders of record on Feb. 25. mington. During the next month, it will be shown in approximately 1,000 other theatres. “Inside Daisy Clover” will open this month at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, the chairman said. Four major productions in Technicolor and Panavision are ready to open during the spring. They are “Harper,” “Stop the World' — I Wrant to Get Off,” “A Fine Madness,” and “A Big Hand for the Little Lady.” Now being completed, with principal pho¬ tography already finished, is “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” and two new films have just gone into production, “Not With My Wife, You Don’t!,” and “Kaleidoscope.” Four important properties are being pre¬ pared as theatrical motion pictures by the new production unit set up at Warners studios in Burbank, Calif., under William Conrad, “An American Dream,” “A Covenant with Death,” “Speak Not Evil,” and “House on Green Ap¬ ple Road.” Chairman Coulson referred to a large num¬ ber of other major motion pictures now in Foreign Press Presents “Golden Globe” Awards HOLLYWOOD — The Hollywood Foreign Press Association made their “Golden Globe” Awards at the Cocoanut Grove, and the presentations were broadcast on the Andy Williams Show over NBC-TV. Winners were: Best Picture, drama, MGM’s “Doctor Zhivago”; Best Picture, musical or comedy, 20th-Fox’s “The Sound Of Music”; Best Dramatic Actor, Omar Sharif, “Doctor Zhivago”; Best Actor, musical or comedy, Lee Marvin, Columbia’s “Cat Ballou”; Best Dramatic Actress, Samantha Eggar, Colum¬ bia’s “The Collector”; Best Actress, musical or comedy, Julie Andrews, “The Sound Of Music”; Best Director, David Lean, “Doctor Zhivago”; Best Supporting Actor, Oskar Wer¬ ner, Paramount’s “The Spy Who Came In From The Cold”; Best Supporting Actress, Ruth Gordon, Warners’ “Inside Daisy Clover.” Paul Newman and Natalie Wood were named world favorite actor and actress. Stars of tomorrow were named as Robert Redford in “Inside Daisy Clover” and Eliza¬ beth Hartman in MGM’s “A Patch Of Blue.” The Cecil B. DeMille Award for outstand¬ ing contribution to entertainment went to John Wayne. Embassy’s “Darling” was named the best foreign film in the English language, and Rizzoli’s “Juliet Of The Spirits” was named the best foreign film in foreign language. Among other film and television awards, “Doctor Zhivago” also won for having the best screenplay. Branson Heads NSS Production LOS ANGELES — National Screen Service president Burton E. Robbins announced the appointment of Walter E. Branson as vicepresident in charge of production. Branson, formerly vice-president in charge of distri¬ bution, will head up all the west coast acti¬ vities of NSS, basing in their Hollywood Studios. In addition to inaugurating areas of new activity in motion pictures and television, Branson will also assume all of the former duties of Ben Ashe, who has resigned. Ashe had served as NSS studio manager for the past 2i/2 years. various stages of preparation and outlined current activities of Warners in television series, tv syndication, Warner Bros, and Re¬ prise record labels, and the music publishing subsidiaries. The pictures in various stages of prepara¬ tion are “Any Wednesday,” “Legacy of a Spy,” “Day of the Champion,” “William the Con¬ queror,” “Hotel,” “The Hoods,” “Up the Down Staircase,” “Wait Until Dark,” “Sweet No¬ vember,” “The Name of the Game,” “Poor Richard,” “Planet of the Apes,” “Jackson Hole,” “Where’s The Action?,” and “Camelot.” A new subsidiary, Warner Bros. TV Service, Inc., has been set up, Coulson said “to enter the general business of owning and operating community antenna tv systems, and we con¬ template constructing such antennas to reach homes initially in many parts of California and later elsewhere. “This great number and variety of activi¬ ties enables the management of our company to look forward confidently to successful op¬ erations during the coming year.” 18 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR February 9, 1966