Motion Picture Herald (Jul-Aug 1943)

22 MOTION PICTURE HERALD July 3 1, 1943 Arbitration Unit Hits Combined Complaints A ppeal Board Defines Form for Amending Complaints After Filing Dissimilar arbitration complaints against different defendants and intervenors must not be combined in one demand, the Appeal Board of the motion picture arbitration system ruled on Friday. The Board, in affirming the dismissal at Chicago of the complaint of the Gary Theatre Corporation, operating the Palace, Gary, Ind., also defined for the first time the conditions under which a complaint may be amended after filing. The board upheld Benjamin Wham, arbitrator, who summarily dismissed without hearings the clearance and specific run demands of V. U. Young in Chicago's 18th case. In June, 1942, the Palace asked reduction in the clearances granted to the Tivoli, Lido, and Lake theatres of Michigan City, the Premiere and Lake in Valparaiso and Palace in Chesterton. After intervenors had entered the case and an arbitrator been chosen Mr. Young asked to amend the complaint. Amended Complaints Entered by Young Amended complaints, attacking the clearances granted by RKO and Twentieth Century-Fox, and charging that MGM and Warners violated Section X by selling second run away to the State theatre were entered by Mr. Young. Parties consented to the amended complaint. Holding that this change essentially altered the complaint, the board said that Mr. Wham should have disallowed the petition to amend. "Although we agree that arbitration proceedings should be made as simple as possible, and that a complainant should have ample latitude to amend its original demand for arbitration, such amendments should be confined within reasonable limits and should have some relation to the cause of action alleged in the original demand and to the parties affected thereby," the board wrote. Too Much Weight Attached To Suit, Board Holds Also the board said that late intervenors were placed in the embarrassing position of being asked to approve an arbitrator who had already been selected. In upholding the dismissal the board said that Gary could file new and separate complaints. Too much weight was attached to an unsuccessful Federal court suit in 1938 in which the Gary argued the same issues, the board said. Mr. Wham should not have drawn on the federal court record inasmuch ;i conditions might have changed materially since 1938, the board held. The question of whether present clearances are unreasonable under Section VIII of the Consent Decree should not be decided on the basis of res judicata, the board said. They also declared that complainant should have had opportunity to present evidence. Interpreting the time requirements of Section X the board said that its restrictions "are so burdensome" that they should not be complicated by Mr. Wham's dismissal on the grounds that Section XX limited it to pictures released after August 31, 1942. The board held that Section X applied to demands for run made at anytime after July 20, 1935. Boston E. M. Loew, Boston circuit operator, in his fifth clearance complaint, and Boston's 23rd case, last week named Paramount, RKO, MGM, Warners and Twentieth Century-Fox defendants in a demand filed for the Paramount theatre, Newport, R. I., by the Newport Theatre Company. Asking a 14 day maximum Mr. Loew complained that the 60 days clearance granted the Strand by all companies, and the 90 days to the Opera House from Fox and 60 days from the other companies was unreasonable. The' Plaza theatre at Derry, N. H., in the 24th Boston case also named the five consenting companies in a clearance action. Joseph Mathieu asked a cut from 30 days to seven behind the State, Crown and Strand theatres in Manchester and the elimination or reduction to one day of 30 day margins held by the State and Tremont theatres in Nashua. Oklahoma City The Ritz theatre in Duncan, Okla., has filed a clearance and specific run case against Paramount. It is the seventh Oklahoma City case. J. A. Guest, operator, filed the first case there, but settled. The new complaint charges Paramount sold second run away to the Griffith Amusement Company on 1940-41 and 1942-43 product in violation of Section X. It asks return of the run and reasonable clearance. Chicago Adolph Szold's Avon theatre and George Kerasotes' Beverly and Varsiety theatres, of Peoria, 111., were awarded a reduction in the clearance granted to the first run Madison and Palace theatres of that city in a consent award handed down by arbitrator Harold J. Clark Tuesday. It combined the 23rd and 24th Chicago cases. The arbitrator ruled that hereafter maximum clearance from Paramount, RKO, Twentieth-Fox and MGM shall not exceed 70 days compared to from 74 to 90 days previously. The Beverly and Varsity were granted the same from Warner Bros., but the Avon, which plays Warner product in the fourth run, had its maximum clearance set at 95 days. Clearance specified shall be applicable only if admissions are not substantially reduced from the prices charged during the last 30 days. The right was reserved for the distributors to grant greater or less clearance with respect to individual pictures which have a special distribution plan nationally or in the Chicago exchange area. Los Angeles The Los Feliz theatre, Los Angeles, lost its clearance demand against MGM, RKO and Warners this week. James L. Patten, arbitrator, found the 14-day margins of the competing Apollo and Loma houses reasonable. Set Committees For N.J. Allied Committees which will investigate and report on various exhibition problems during the coming year were selected last week by the Allied Theatre Owners of New Jersey. They are: Executive, Harry Lowenstein, chairman; Louis Gold, Ralph Wilkins, David Snaper, Edward Lachman, David Mate and Maurice Spewack. Finance: Mr. Snaper, chairman; Helen Hildinger, Mr. Lachman and Sidney Seligman. Membership: South Jersey, Sam Frank, chairman ; Herbert Hill, Jr. ; Frances Fineman, D. Rascoe Faunce; North Jersey, Mr. Mate, chairman; Mr. Lachman, M. H. Fogelson and Dr. Henry Brown. Public Relations: Lee Newbury, chairman; George Gold, Irving Dollinger and Simon Myers. Business Relations: Jack Unger, chairman; Samuel Hochberg, Frank Henry and Lewis Martin. Eastern Regional Directors : Finance, Mr. Snaper; Business Relations, Mr. Newbury and Mr. Wilkins; Public Relations, George Gold and Mr. Myers. Mr. Lowenstein and Mr. Dollinger, who is also eastern regional vice-president of national Allied, have left for vacations and will return to attend the national Allied board of directors meeting in Baltimore August 11th and 12th. "One World" to Be Made In Nine Languages Wendell Willkie's book "One World," will be produced on the screen in eight foreign languages, it was announced last week by 20th Century-Fox. The film will be made not only in English but in German and Italian, as well as Russian, Chinese, French, Turkish, Arabic and Spanish, it was said. It is planned to show the picture in the Axis countries as well as those dominated by them, as soon as they are occupied by Allied forces. "One World," which is to be produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and released under his name, was purchased by 20th Century-Fox recently. The picture will not go into production for some months. Mr. Zanuck is due in New York shortly to discuss production details with Mr. Willkie. Samson Is Welcomed At Dinner in Toronto Approximately 200 Canadian exhibitors greeted Sydney Samson, recently appointed Canadian district manager of 20th Century-Fox, on Thursday at a dinner at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, given by W. C. Gehring, western division manager of 20th-Fox. Because he was convalescing from an illness, James P. O'Loghlin, designated as the company's Canadian general manager, was not present. His speech of welcome, however, was read by Mr. Gehring. J. J. Fitzgibbons, head of Famous Players Canadian, was among those welcoming Mr. Samson. Mr. Samson was honor guest at a testimonial dinner at the Hotel Statler in Buffalo last week. Visit U. A. Exchanges Jack Goetz and Arthur Gottlieb left for California this week to visit United Artists exchanges in the interest of a new series of tworeel subjects called "World in Action," which United Artists will distribute. Ray Johnston To Wed W. Ray Johnston, president of Monogram Pictures, was to marry Doris Dupree of Fort Worth, Tex., in Hollywood on Saturday. The ceremony was to take place at the Pueblo Oratorio in the Chapman Park Hotel.