Motion Picture Herald (May-Jun 1946)

Tax Rise Voted In Philadelphia; Protest Others The Philadelphia City Council last Friday passed the amusement tax bill which increases the present tax on admissions from four cents on the dollar to 10 cents. Meanwhile, in St. Louis and Indianapolis, exhibitors have organized to fight proposed admission taxes. After weeks of deliberation and in the face of vehement protest from exhibitors and patrons, the Philadelphia City Council accepted the recommendations of its Finance Committee and passed the tax bill. The revenue was to raise the pay of municipal employees and reduce the working hours of firemen. The council had received a petition signed by more than 150,000 theatregoers and more than 200,000 postcards of protest. In St. Louis 110 exhibitors have united to fight the proposed five per cent amusement tax introduced in the Board of Aldermen last week. Fred Wehrenberg, head of the MPTOA of St. Louis, has organized the theatre opposition to the bill and has sent wires to all exhibitors urging them to use trailers, lobby displays and circulars to impress upon patrons that the tax will be passed on to them. The MPTOA, in conjunction with six unions, ran a full-page advertisement in the Star-Times Monday urging the public to oppose the tax. In Indianapolis, the ATO of Indiana is fighting the proposal for a five per cent amusement tax made by John Stelle, national commander of the American Legion. "Once again the exhibitors get thanked for their efforts (during the war) with a kick in the pants," Don Rossiter, executive secretary of the ATO, said. Michigan ITO Adopts A New Constitution The Michigan Independent Theatre Owners Association adopted a constitution and by-laws at its meeting in Detroit last week but postponed to June 5 election of perraarent officers. Membership, it was decided, would be open to any exhibitor not affiliated with the distributors. Circuit operators are tligible, but only if they bring in every house in the circuit when they join. Sam Carver, interim chairman, presided at the meeting which was attended by 113 houses. Warners To Release Six In Next Three Months Warner Brothers will release six films during the nfext three months, two each in June, July and August. The schedule is as follows: June 1, "One More Tomorrow"; June 22, "Janie Gets Married"; July 6, "A Stolen Life"; July 20, "Of Human Bondage"; August 3, "Night and Day"; August 17, "Two Guys from Milwaukee." OFFER THEATRES' AID IN STRIKE CRISIS Representing the American Theatres Association, Ted R. Gamble, chairman, and S. H. Fabian, president, in Washington last week following reports that theatres were to be shut down on a national basis as a result of the strike situation, invited Edward Faick of the Civilian Production Administration to suggest ways in which the theatres could assist in the event of a national crisis. They pointed out that open theatres could perform vital informational functions as well as provide entertainment, whereas closed theatres could not. They urged that theatres not be discriminated against in comparison with the treatment of other businesses. U. A. International Sales Meeting August 12 United Artists will hold a four-day international sales conference at the WaldorfAstoria Hotel in New York, August 12-15, with Gradwell L. Sears, vice-president in charge of world wide distribution, and J. J. Unger, general sales manager, presiding. This will be the first general meeting of the company's sales representatives since the start of the war and the first international conference. Attending in addition to the company's domestic sales force will be a foreign contingent headed by David Coplan, managing director in Great Britain, and Georges Rouvier, managing director in France. Walter Gould, foreign manager, will handle foreign sales phases. Six district meetings were held earlier this year, in New York, Boston, St. Louis, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles. New York ITOA Reelects Harry Brandt President Harry Brandt was reelected president of the Independent Theatre Owners Association of New York at the meeting held May 23 at the Hotel Astor, New York. Other officers elected were : David Weinstock, first vice-president; Max A. Cohen, second vicepresident ; Leon Rosenblatt, treasurer ; J. Joshua Goldberg, secretary; John C. Bolte, sergeant-at-arms. Members of the board of directors include Mr. Weinstock, Leo Brecher, A. H. Eisenstadt, Lou Feld, Sam Freedman, Isidore Goldmark, Isidore Gottlieb, Emanuel Hertzig, Murray LeBoss, Abe Leff, Al Margulies, Lou Mazze, Irving Renner, Ray Rhonheimer, Rudy Sanders, Abe Shenk, Henry Siegel and Charles Steiner. Republic Dividend 25 Cents A regular quarterly dividend of 25 cents per share on preferred stock, payable July 1, 1946, to stockholders of record June 10, was declared Tuesday by the board of directors of Republic Pictures Corporation. Theatres Facing Dimout as Coal Strike Continues As the industry was recovering from the effects of the 48-hour stoppage of the nation's railroads, the prospect of a dimout for the 22 eastern states loomed at midweek, as the Civilian Production Administration said disrupted coal production might necessitate curtailing power consumption. The order was to have been issued Wednesday, if by that time the coal miners' dispute was not settled. Edward Falck of the CPA's Emergency Power's Office said last weekend, however, that the Government did not contemplate a national theatre shutdown. Although settlement of the strike resulted in the abandonment of the film carriers' network relay plan for assuring movement of film prints, as devised by company print executives and James Clark of the National Film Carriers Association at a recent conference, the meeting did have the advantage of offering for future use a formula for dealing with any future similar situations. Coast Theatres Hard Hit Hardest hit by the strike were downtown Los Angeles and Holl)rwood theatres because the Pacific Electric trains, which function like street cars in the city and link the metropolitan area with the suburbs, stopped in concert with the major railroads. City authorities said the stoppage added 500,000 to 1,000,000 persons already put afoot by the then three-week-old trolley strike. Downtown exhibitors reported business down 30 per cent while suburban houses experienced a slight increase. In New York, the strike had its gloomy effect on Broadway houses. Reports from some managers were that business fell off from 25 to 50 per cent. Tuesday, Mayor O'Dwyer reinvoked the city's voluntary dimout because of the coal situation. He ordered minimum use of light and power in public buildings and urged theatres, nightclubs and hotels to economize also. San Francisco Normal San Francisco film shipments by local exchanges continued relatively normal. Albany exchanges at the weekend were shipping prints by truck in out-of-the-way places and exhibitors were directed to pick up returned film at the nearest point reached by delivery lines. A survey "of Minneapolis exchanges showed shipping activities not hampered there. In Philadelphia, downtown theatres showed a sharp decline. In Denver last Friday, managers and bookers held an all-day meeting and arranged for additional trucklines to carry film as far as Albuquerque, N. M., there to transfer to interstate trucking to reach as many towns as possible. MOTION PICTURE HERALD, JUNE I, 1946 17