Motion Picture Herald (May-Jun 1946)

McCarey Tops Salary List with $1,113,035 Going His Way in '44 LEO McCAREY Thinking of a career ? If you can't get to Hollywood, try the motor companies or the soap or the grocery companies. But Hollywood is best. Hollywood in 1944, as it did in previous years, offered the best salaries. Leo McCarey, producer of "Going My Way," led the recently published list of persons receiving income of more than $75,000 for 1944 with an income of $1,113,035. Of that, $75,000 was salary, the rest "other compensation" from Paramount. And another industry figure, Carmen Miranda, led all of the women money-makers with a salary of $201,458. Further statistics? Seven industry fig CARMEN MIRANDA ures were among the top 25 wage-earners; 11 made more than $200,000 during 1944. Going into detail: Charles P. Skouras, National Theatres, $263,000; Darryl F. Zanuck. Twentieth Century-Fox, $260,833; Spyros P. Skouras, 20th-Fox, $255,908; Ray Milland, Paramount, $243,333; William Bendix, Hal Roach Studios, $234,204 Charles Boyer, Warner Brothers, $207,500 George B. DeSylva, Paramount, $204,758 Michael Curtiz, Warners, $203,759, and Fred MacMurray, who was in fourth place in 1943 with $419,166, $213,333 for 1944. Incidentally, tax on a $1,000,000 income amounts to $900,000. Warner Staff to Meet in August Executives from abroad will attend the Warner Brothers sales convention August 5-7 at the Ambassador Hotel, Atlantic City. Max Milder, president of Warner International and managing director for the company in Great Britain, will attend from London, while Joseph Hummel, vice-president of Warner International in charge of Continental Europe and adjacent countries will arrive from his Paris headquarters. Wolf Cohen, International vice-president, who makes his headquarters in the home office, will attend, as will vice-president Karl MacDonald and J. J. Glynn. Due from the Latin American field are Arthur S. Abeles, Jr., managing director for Argentina and supervisor for Chile and Uruguay ; Peter Colli, supervisor for Cuba, Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Trinidad, Venezuela, Panama and Central America; Ary Lima, managing director for Brazil; Armando Trucios, managing director for Peru and supervisor for Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador, and Michael Sokol, general manager for Mexico. Ben Kalmenson, Warner Brothers vicepresident and general sales manager, will preside. After the meeting the Latin American supervisors will visit the home office, where detailed plans for Warners' 16mm program for the Latin countries will be outlined. Favorite Sells Franchises For 19 Film Exchanges Favorite Films Corporation, New York, is developing a nationwide, state rights distribution setup, and already has sold franchises to 18 key city exchanges in this country and one in Canada, according to More Kerman, president. Distribution will begin shortly on 12 reissues acquired by the company, he said. Mr. Kerman also announced that the company had opened a special 16mm and foreign department. Majors to Limit French Imports To 124 in Year Following the signing of the recent French-American agreement, the eight majors, members of the Motion Picture Export Association, have agreed voluntarily not to release more than 124 dubbed features in France during the year commencing July 1. The agreement did not include an import quota. To calm various and vigorous protests from French producers about American pictures "flooding the market," Eric A. Johnston, MPA president, has cabled this week to the continental managers of U. S. companies in France that the American industry has neither the desire nor the intention of releasing in France more pictures than that country can absorb. Pledges Cooperation Wrote Mr. Johnston: "We welcome the opportunity again to release outstanding American productions through French theatres to French patrons. We desire also to help the French film industry and for this purpose have voluntarily arranged to limit our releases to a figure substantially less than the prewar annual total. Also, the 124 total is substantially below the number of American features the same eight companies are currently releasing in other European countries." MPA figures indicate that the eight companies involved released an average of 179 features annually in France during the three years prior to the war. M. Fourre Cormeray, director general of the French film industry, has replied to the recent French attacks on the Franco-American agreement and says that it is much less unfavorable to France than producers have contended. Speaking to French film critics, he explained France's film problem was not that of competition with the U. S., but one of reconstruction and modernization of the industry. From Washington came word that there can be no elimination of the French capital tax requiring operating companies to pay a five per cent tax on all capital held within that country. Abolish Dual Taxation However, the State Department has announced that a new tax treaty between the U. S. and France has been drafted which would abolish double taxation and provides that royalties paid in France to an American are exempt from taxation in France, provided that the individual does not live there. Universal has announced that it will produce in France. Joseph H. Seidelman, president of Universal International, reported in New York this week that Universal was initiating a project to produce in Paris in association with Transcontinental Films of France, headed by Paul Graetz. 22 MOTION PICTURE HERALD. JUNE 22. 1946