Showmen's Trade Review (Jan-Mar 1945)

January 13, 1945 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW 9 Attendance Decline Foreseen by Treasyry The inference that theatre attendance will have reached its peak in the interim of the Government's fiscal year ending June, 1945, was contained in President Roosevelt's annual budget message to Congress this week when it was revealed that the Budget Bureau estimates that admissions tax collections in the 1946 fiscal year will decline to $257,700,000 from the Bureau's estimated receipts of $292,000,000 for 1945— a drop of $35,000,000. President Roosevelt declared there would be a definite drop in Government expenditure for war materiel, and Treasury officials stated the decline in business as a result would amount to about 15 per cent. In the overall picture it is estimated that there will be a decline of $200,000,000 at the national box-office for the year beginning June 1945. The Budget Bureau's figures also revealed that actual receipts from admissions taxes for the Government's fiscal year ending 1944 totalled $178,562,694. Pertinent to the industry in the President's budget message to Congress was the knowledge that the Treasury will derive a revenue of $135,000 from the sale of Government films, from which it secured $31,872, in 1944, and expects to receive $75,000 this year. The Library of Congress will initiate preliminary investigations and prepare plans for the recording, storing and servicing of motion pictures and still photographs, for which plans for a permanent repository are in preparation. An appropriation of $21,000 has been recommended. The defense activities of the Federal Communications Commission will be further contracted, with the reduction of the appropriation from $4,191,143 to $2,430,000. In anticipation, however, of increased responsibilities as a result of regulation of civilian communications its regular fund is to be increased to $2,756,000 from $2,104,500. The appropriation for the anti-trust division of the Department of Justice is to be increased from $1,540,000 to $1,750,000. The motion picture work of the Office of Education, in connection with aids for war training, is to be liquidated, but its regular motion picture activities will be continued under an expanded civilian program for which an appropriation will amount to $1,351,700, compared with $838,118 in the current year. Added responsibilities was foreseen for the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce after the end of the war, and inclusive of the motion picture unit, its appropriation will bring an increase of from $1,550,000 to $2,000,000. The State Department will receive $25,700 for continued work in an education motion picture program. A similar sum was appropriated this year. For its cooperative work with the American republics, inclusive of the provisions for motion pictures, the State Department will receive $4,430,000 compared with $3,450,000 this year. SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW Title and Trade Mark Registered U. S. Patent Office Published every Friday by Showmen's Trade Review Inc., 1501 Broadway, New York 18, N. Y. Telephone BRyant 9-5606. Charles E. "Chick" Lewis, Editor and Publisher; Tom Kennedy, Associate Editor; James A. Cron, General Manager; Ralph Cokain, Managing Editor; David Harris, Business and Circulation Manager; Harold Kendall, Equipment Advertising Manager; West Coast Office, 6777 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood 28, California; Telephone Hollywood 2055. Ann Lewis, manager. Ed Raiden, West Coast Editor. London Representative, Milton Deane, 185 Fleet St., London E.C. 4; Australian Representative, Gordon V. Curie, 1 Elliott St., Homebush, Sydney, Australia. Subscription rates per year $2.00 in the United States and Canada; Foreign, $5.00. Single copies, ten cents. Address all Communications to : f SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW 1501 Broadway, New York 18, N. Y. Crosby, Jones Tops Bing Crosby and Jennifer Jones were selected by press and radio critics for the top performances of 1944 in Film Daily's Filmdom's Famous Fives of 1944 poll. Crosby was cited for his performance in Paramount's "Going My Way," while Miss Jones was chosen for her portrayal in 20l-h CenturyFox's "The Song of Bernadette." Male runners-up were Spencer Tracy, Gary Cooper, Fredric March and Claude Rains, while those behind Miss Jones were Ingrid Bergman, Greer Garson, Bette Davis and Irene Dunne, in that order. Barry Fitzgerald was named best supporting actor. Aline MacMahon best supporting actress. J. A. West Elected to Head Tri-States MPTO J. Allen West of the Hollywood Theatre, Memphis, was elected president of Tri-State Theatre Owners, affiliated with the MPTOA, at the organization's annual convention in Memphis this week. W. E. Malin of Augusta, Ark., W. F. Ruffin of Covington, Tenn., and Miss Souk Taylor of Laurel, Miss., were named vice-presidents, with B. V. McDougall of Monticello. Ark., and E. R. Gillette of Memphis succeeding to the posts of chairman of the board and secretary-treasurer, respectively. Elected to the board of directors were : Arkansas — W. L. Landers, Batesville; Claude Mundo, Little Rock; L. F. Haven, Forrest City ; Jack Rhodes, West Memphis ; Sidney Wharton, Warren ; Emma Cox, Osceola. Mississippi— R. X. Williams, Oxford; W. A. Rush, Houston ; Raymond D. Goodman, Starkville. Tennessee — M. A. Lightman, Memphis ; Dave Flexer, Memphis ; Louise Mask, Bolivar ; W. F. Ruffin, Covington. Talks on better management, publicity and the fine cooperation between distributors and distributors in the Tri-States MPTO were delivered by Dave Palfreyman, Claude Lee, M. .\. Lightman, Claude Mundo and Clayton Tunstill. Louis Haven, Jr., of Forrest City, Ark., presided at the convention's formal business conference. Loew's, Big U, Universal Win Suit on Copyright Infringement Judgment in favor of Loew's; Inc., Big U Film Exchange, Inc., and Universal Film Exchange, Inc., was granted in Federal Court, Southern District of New York, last week in their copyright infringement suits against Sanfrebob Theatres Corp. (Grande Theatre, E. 86th St.) and the manager, Nathan Steinberg. The plaintiffs were granted statutory damages to be assessed at from $250 to $5000 per infringement, at the court's discretion, plus reasonable attorney's fees. The actions were based upon the defendants' exhibiting "Tortilla Flat," "San Francisco" and "You're a Sweetheart" each one day beyond the terms of the contracts. Phillips, Nizer, Benjamin & Krim represented the plaintiffs. Titus Named Repubik Assistant In Charge of Branch Operations Appointed executive assistant in charge of branch operations by James R. Grainger, Republic president and general sales manager, Walter L. Titus assumed his new duties this week and will accompany E. L. Walton, assistant general sales manager, on a tour of the company's branches in the United States and Canada following the company's regional sales meetings concluding in Hollywood on Jan. 23. 2-House First Runs Condemned by ITOA A resolution condemning the distributor practice of playing the same picture simultaneously in two theatres as first-runs was passed by the Film Committee of the ITOA of New York at a meeting held this week at the Hotel Astor. Fear that the practice might create a larger backlog of product than exists today was expressed by the Committee resolution, which also declared the committee's awareness that "this practice obviously removes one house that could play another picture and sets back release dates." Independents who make several changes per week find themselves unable to obtain enough releases to carry proper bookings, the committee stated, pointing out that playdates cannot be extended in subsequent-run houses because of present insufficient grosses. The independents see no indications of any appreciable increase in grosses, the committee found, adding that grosses in many subsequent-run theatres are less than in previous years. It was further stated that the prices asked by distributors after Broadway first-runs, extended playing time and moveovers, "are by no means justified." The Film Committee went on record with the declaration that the ITOA would do everything in its power to stop the practice. 3 UA District Managers Attend Two-Day Meeting in New York Eight United Artists district managers were present at a two-day sales meeting held in New York this week to discuss sales policies in connection with forthcoming product and formulate plans for national advertising and publicity campaigns. Attending the sessions were Sam Lefkowitz, New York ; James Winn, Boston ; Jack D. Goldhar, Detroit; Fred M. Jack, Dallas ; T. R. Thompson, Kansas City ; Rud Lohrenz, Chicago ; W. E. Callaway, Los Angeles, and A. J. Jeffrey, Toronto. Besides Carl Leserman, UA general sales manager, and Gradwell L. Sears, vice-president in charge of distribution, others attending from the home office were J. J. Unger, western division manager; Harry Gold, eastern division manager; Edward Schnitzer, home office sales executive, and Paul Lazarus, Sr., Harry D. Buckley, Charles Steele, Phil Dow and Jack Wrege. Detroit Jury Upholds Right of Exhibitor to Maintain Order Dismissing a $50,000 suit instituted by Norman P. Silberstein, Detroit attorney, against United Detroit Theatres, a jury in Wayne County Court upheld the right of an exhibitor to require patrons to remain in line while waiting for seats in a crowded theatre. Silberstein had ignored an usher and was struck by a private detective's night club when he attempted to find his own seats in the Fisher Theatre. INDEX TO DEPARTMENTS Box-Office Slants 16 Current Product Summary 62 Feature Booking Guide 58 Feature Guide Title Index 61 Hollywood 55 Newsreel Synopses 54 Regional Newsreel 38 Selling the Picture 21 Shorts Booking Guide 63 Short Subject Reviews 54