Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1947)

Universal And Columbia Ask Decree Stay PRESIDENT ATTENDS BENEFIT SCREENING OF "BEST YEARS " THE PRESIDENT AT THE MOVIES: Harry S. Truman and Mrs. Truman Tuesday evening attended the motion pictures for the third time since he became President — honoring in this instance a Washington special screening of Samuel Goldwyn's "The Best Years of Our Lives", at the RKO Keith's. Above, in the theatre lobby are Mrs. Harold H. Burton, wife of the Supreme Court Associate Justice; the President and Mrs. Truman, and, in the background, center, S. L. Sorkin, manager of the theatre, and Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. The premiere was "an official Washington turnout" for the benefit of the Washington Committee for National Civilian Rehabilitation, of which Mrs. Truman is honorary chairman, and Mrs. Burton chairman. Among those who attended were Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson and Mrs. Vinson; Mrs. Robert S. Patterson, wife of the Secretary of War; Senator Tom Connally; Supreme Court Associate Justice Felix Frankfurter; Secretary of Agriculture Clinton Anderson, and Mrs. Anderson; and motion picture stars Harold Russell, llona Massey and Richard Ney. As experiments with the bidding provisions of the decree in the New York antitrust suit spread to new areas and new complications this week, two companies, Universal and Columbia, sought stays of execution on those provisions. Universal, on March 4, requested stays on the competitive bidding order, the order enjoining a distributor from "arbitrarily refusing" to license a feature to an exhibitor, and a stay on all provisions of Section II, paragraphs one to seven, insofar as the}' enjoin the performance of existing contracts or require the granting of rejection rights. Appeal on Single Sales Columbia, which was to request the Supreme Court this week for a stay on competitive bidding, was to ask, in addition, for a stay on the injunction against single sales, the order given the licensee the right to reject 20 per cent of the features not trade show prior to licensing, and the order enjoining the arbitrary refusal to license. Universal's application asked a stay on all those provisions affecting existing contracts : fixing minimum admission, clearance agreements, performing existing franchise agreements, making or further performing formula deals or master agreements, conditioning the sale of one feature upon another. Meanwhile bidding experiments were going on in more than 25 areas, concentrating, reported one company, in the west. Seek Clarification One major difficulty encountered in the experiments is that a "great many" requests for bidding are vague and generalized. Another problem is linked with the jointlyowned theatres: Must the jointly-owned theatres participate in the bidding for the partner-company's product? It is believed a Supreme Court decision on the anti-trust suit is needed before this question can be answered. The dissolution of pooling agreements continues. The Fox West Coast Rialto, a San Francisco neighborhood, is reported going to Golden State Theatres. FWC now has four San Francisco houses, the Fox, United Nations, Warfield and El Capitan. Additionally, FWC has taken over a Reno, Nev., house from T & D jr. Enterprises, operated by Golden State, and one Visalia and one Hanford theatre from Golden State. Setting Up Four Selznick West Coast Offices Milton S. Kusell, general sales manager for the Selznick Releasing Organization, arrived in Hollywood this week from New York to establish new sales offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver and Salt Lake City and to arrange west coast openings for Selznick's "Duel in the Sun." Buy Selectively, Wolcott Urges The shortage of films of the past four years has given way to "plenty of pictures in a matter of days" because distributors are liquidating their backlogs, Leo F. Wolcott, chairman of the board of Allied of Iowa and Nebraska, says in a current membership bulletin. Exhibitors are urged by Mr. Wolcott to take advantage of the situation by buying "only the best pictures" and not the "poor and unsuitable ones." This, he says, will do more than anything else to improve product quality. High flat-rental demands are rapidly replacing percentages, he notes. He urges exhibitors to "get in on the ground floor" of the Motion Picture Foundation, which, he says, "will give for the first time a definite future to industry people." The organization's annual convention will be held at the Fontanelle Hotel, Omaha, May 5-6. Regional meetings were to be held this week in Decorah and Osceola, la. At a meeting at Storm Lake, Iowa, film rentals, competitive bidding and theatre overhead were discussed. Mr. Wolcott's bulletin urges exhibitor opposition to three bills pending in the Iowa legislature. One calls for licensing distributors at $1,000 per year, plus $1 per reel for all films brought into the state; another would create a state censor and licensing department; the third would provide inspection by the state fire marshal of places of public assembly where film is used. Answers Are Due April 2 In Chicago Trust Suit Defendants in the $2,650,000 treble damage anti-trust suit filed in Chicago by Middle States Corporation and the Riverside Operating Company, on behalf of the Minnesota theatre in Minneapolis and the Riverside in Milwaukee, have been given until April 2 to file answers. Defendants are nine distributors. In addition, in the Minneapolis case, the Minnesota Amusement Co. is also named as a defendant. New York Legislature Vetoes Sports Arena The action of the New York State Legislature March 5 in killing a proposal to build a $20,000,000 sports arena and parking garage at New York City's Columbus Circle, was attacked by Robert Moses, chairman of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority. It was under this authority that the arena was to be built. MOTION PICTURE HERALD, MARCH 15, 1947 2 3