Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1947)

Local Meetings NameFoundation Trustee Board Barney Balaban, president of Paramount and chairman of the temporary steering committee of the Motion Picture Foundation, Wednesday announced that preliminary meetings and conferences had been held in more than two-thirds of the exchange areas for the purpose of setting up organized meetings in each exchange area. At the same time he said he had received communications from a number of other exchange areas pledging full cooperation and promising to hold organizing meetings as soon as details could be arranged. He urged that such meetings be held in every area so that national trustees might be elected in time to hold the first meeting of the board of trustees in May. In accordance with the plan of organization of the Foundation, representatives of every phase of the industry are to meet in each exchange area to elect an exchange area committee and a national trustee. The following organizing meetings have already been called: April 14, Charlotte, H. F. Kincey, temporary chairman; April 16, Chicago, John Balaban and Ed Zorn, temporary chairmen ; April 16, Salt Lake City, Sam Gillette and Tracy Barham, temporary chairmen; April 21, Albany, N. Y., Saul J. Ullman and Neil Hellman, temporary chairmen. Also: April 21, Des Moines, Leo F. Wolcott and A. H. Blank, temporary chairmen : April 21, Minneapolis, at a special luncheon of North Central Allied convention, Charles Winchell, Harry French, Harold Field, Benny Berger and Ted Bolnick, temporary committee; third week in April, Pittsburgh, Moe Silver and Maurice Finkel, temporary chairmen; May 5, Omaha; Leo F. Wolcott and A. H. Blank, temporary chairmen ; May 5 to 8, Seattle, at the Pacific Coast Conference of Independent Theatre Owners convention, J. M. Hone, temporary chairman. Set French Premiere of "Madame Curie" The French premiere of MGM's "Madame Curie," starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon, has been set for the Paris Opera for the near future, according to a spokesman for Loew's International in New York. The print to be used will be dubbed into French. This will mark the first time that the synchronized version of a film will have played the Opera. The decision to break with tradition was taken by the directors of the Opera themselves after attending a screening of both the English-speaking and the dubbed prints. It is understood that negotiations now are going on with a view to having the opening of Enterprise Productions' "Arch of Triumph" also at the Paris Opera. European distribution and publicity plans for the film are being worked out. FROM REAPER SUGGESTS NEW PLAN ON PERCENTAGE PICTURES To the Editor of the Herald: Now that the Decree has been handed down to the great benefit of the Producers and Distributors, and who are still not satisfied, witness their appeals, I, a small Exhibitor, have this to say : Percentage pictures seem to be on the increase, which is bad for us. And 50 per cent pictures are no longer a rarity. They should be outlawed. I for one never buy them and never run them later when the price is down. Not that I object to the pictures, but no man can remain in business paying 50 per cent for pictures. He is only fooling himself on the grosses. So why not use this plan if percentage pictures must be made and sold. Pay the usual percentage the first day on the gross, then on subsequent days let the exhibitor deduct his operating expense, which includes his overhead and split the difference with the distributor. The exhibitor would pay for the shorts and other detail that makes up the show. While in some competitive situations auction will react favorably to the exhibitor who has been outside the distributors' favors, still auction bidding is bound to increase the revenue to the producer and I am afraid will also cause the distributor to act unfavorably towards the small town exhibitor, as he will not need him quite so badly. This has seemed more evident to me in the attitude that has been taken against us on local checkers. As one manager expressed himself to me : "Once you sign that contract, we can do anything we damn please about you." That does not look so good as we have a justifiable claim that local checkers talk too much to people who know too much. In other words, if a Sunday-Monday run and the exhibitor has a $300 gross on Sunday, pay the percentage on that figure. Then on Monday, if he has an expense of $75 per day, deduct that from the gross and if the revenue for that day is $100 give the distributor $12.50 which, after all, is all that he is entitled to. As an exhibitor, I would be glad to have any company go over my books and set my overhead and then work on the above plan. That way we little fellows would not be worrying over a letdown in business during the balance of the week. This has many ramifications, but I believe it is practicable and workable. — W. H. LUTHIE, Charkarohen Theatre. N. Woodstock, N. H. Antwerp House for Metro MGM's new 2,500-seat Antwerp house, the Metro, will have a gala reopening April 11, according to Morton A. Spring, first vice-president of Loew's International Corporation. The theatre was damaged by bombing during the war and was then closed for repairs and complete refurnishing. The Metro is the company's second showcase in Belgium. The other is the Forum Theatre in Liege, which reopened March 22. Construction Is Under Way on Several Houses Plans for the construction or remodeling of six theatres in various parts of the country were approved this week by the Civilian Production Administration's Facilities Review Committee in Washington. The owner, location, and projected cost of each theatre to be constructed or remodeled follows : Sidney Talley, Pleasanton, Tex., $38,220; Paul Foil, Mr. Pleasant, N. C, $11,000; Lester R. Reed, Kinston, N. C, $5,000; Sabar Amusement Corp., Camden, N. J., $13,500; Irvin Bobson, Goulds, Fla., $18,700, and Glenda Woolman, Drain, Ore., $16,000. In California construction plans for four theatres have been announced. The Golden State Theatre Corp. plans one each in Lomita Park, San Bruno and Millbrae. H. Bradley Fish, owner of the Clovis theatre in Clovis, Cal., will build another theatre in that vicinity to be called the Sierra. Mr. Fish said he and his associates had exercised their option of the lots they had acquired, and in addition had purchased all remaining lots on the block. In Woodbine, Ky., A. O. Perkins of R. H. Perkins & Son, has been granted a permit to build a theatre in that town, while in Taylorville, Ky., Morris Smith and B. Bennet are constructing the New Ace theatre which will replace the house destroyed by fire several months ago. "in Colorado, W. W. Williams of Eads has plans under way for a 430-seat theatre expected to be completed by June 1. Meanwhile, the CPA has ordered all work stopped on a drive-in theatre near Mansfield, Ohio. The project was started last November by Harold Nussbaum of Toledo who, the CPA said, went ahead without approval of the agency. AMPA Invites Miguel Aleman To Anniversary Dinner The Associated Motion Picture Advertisers has invited Mexico's President, Miguel Aleman, to its Thirtieth Annual Anniversary Dinner in New York's Hotel Astor April 23. The invitation was motivated by the renewed interest in Mexican production and the use of Mexican studios by American producers, it was said. AMPA was to hold its annual election at a closed meeting in the Town Hall Club, New York, Thursday. The new slate consists of Arnold Stolz, president ; Phil Williams, vice-president ; Max Stein, treasurer and Marguerite Wayburn, secretary. Metro to Release "Piccadilly" Herbert Wilcox, British producer, has announced that he has sold "Piccadilly Incident" to MGM for release in the United States and Canada. •42 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, APRIL 5, 1947