Showmen's Trade Review (Jan-Mar 1945)

February 24, 1945 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW 7 Mass. Exhibitors Hit Proposed Taxations Boston theatre officials are protesting a proposed 10 per cent state tax on admission tickets to theatres and other amusements now before the Legislature at Springfield, many of them expressing the opmion that it would close many of the 358 motion picture houses in the state. Opposition against the legislation, which was introduced in an effort to raise the $6,000,000 annual income lost by the state when the ODT closed race tracks, is based on the contention that theatres are already providing public treasuries with millions of dollars through the 20 per cent Federal admission tax, real estate taxes, license fees and other levies imposed by the Federal, state and local governments. Meanwhile, appearing before the joint legislative committee on taxation in Massachusetts, Louis T. Capelle, Dorchester, has petitioned for taxation of motion picture exhibitors at the rate of $1 per reel. Proceeds, estimated to average about $8,130,375 yearly, would be used for financing care of the ill, wounded and disabled veterans of all wars, to pay for old age assistance and to finance the care of widows and orphans of deceased veterans. Should the bill fail to meet with the approval of the legislators, a graduated scale of taxation based on seating capacity might be used, Capelle said. A petition setting forth that "no ticket to any amusement house or licensed theatre shall be sold for more than the price set forth on the ticket" was introduced by Leo J. Sullivan and met with strenuous opposition from the so-called legitimate ticket agencies. The Capelle and Sullivan bills drew the fire of all theatres — motion picture and legitimate — and ticket agencies at public hearings held in the Gardner auditorium in the State House. WB Net Profit $2,350,000; Directors Reelected at Meeting Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., and subsidiaries showed a net profit after taxes of approximately $2,350,000 for the quarter ended Nov. 25, 1944, as compared with a net profit of $1,981,730 for the same period in 1943, according to preliminary figures disclosed Tuesday at the company's annual stockholders' meeting in Wilmington, Del. This is equivalent to 63 cents per share of common stock outstanding, compared to 53 cents per share for the corresponding period a year ago. Warner Bros, officials reported a net reduction of $2,853,000 in consolidated funded debt since Sept. 1, 1944, bringing the total funded and other long term debt of the company and subsidiaries to approximately $46,800,000. Reelected as directors were Samuel Carlisle, Stanleigh P. Friedman, Charles S. Guggenheimer, Samuel Schneider and Morris Wolf. Would Void Child Tax Present exemptions on children's tickets in Philadelphia theatres were eliminated this week in a bill which was passed by the City Council and submitted to Mayor Bernard Samuel for signature. The four per cent city tax on adult admissions remains unchanged. The council has also passed a bill which would raise the theatre license fee from $1 to $10 annually. Connors on Exchange Swing Tom Connors, 2dth-Fox vice-president in charge of sales, back only two days from a sales trip to New Haven, Boston and Albany, left over the weekend for Charlotte, Atlanta, Memphis, Oklahoma City, Dallas and New Orleans. Connors is expected back in New York on March 2nd or 3rd. >4/c/ Clothing Drive Invitations to serve on the United National Clothing Collection Committee, whose April drive will seek 150,000,000 pounds of serviceable used clothing, shoes and bedding for the destitute millions in war-ravaged areas, have been accepted by Edward Arnold, executive vice president. Permanent Charities Committee, Motion Picture Industry; Jean Hersholt, president, American Denmark Relief; Louis B. Mayer, and Spyros P. Skouras, president, Greek War Relief Association, National Committee members will meet in Washington Tuesday (Feb. 26) at the White House where plans for a nation-wide campaign will be discussed. Kusell, Smith Named to Vanguard Sales Posts Two new appointments and a new sales setup for Vanguard Films were announced this week by Neil Agnew, vice-president. Milton Kusell, former New York district manager of Paramount, will be eastern supervisor of sales, while Cresson Smith, former sales executive of United Artists and RKO, will be west coast supervisor of sales with headquarters in Los Angeles. Sam Horowitz will continue his middle west and southern supervision of sales with headquarters in Chicago. Marking the formation of divisional sales control, the new setup will eliminate the former post of domestic general sales manager, as all sales will be supervised by Agnew. The new appointments will be effective March 1. National Board Decree Stand Endorsed by Western Pa. Allied Two resolutions passed at the recent national Allied board meeting in Columbus have been endorsed by Allied Motion Picture Theatre Owners of Western Pennsylvania. One reaffirmed its approval of the Attorney General's proposals for modifying the New York consent decree and urged exhibitors to give favorable consideration to the recommendations. The other, while praising the efforts of the War Activities Committee, asserted that the WAC "in its inner councils" was not representative of the industry as a whole and there was reason for the WAC's continued existence after the war. California Bill Would Require Production Year in All Film Ads A bill which would require that every advertisement of a Hollywood motion picture shown in California must include the year in which the picture was made will be acted upon by the State legislature when it convenes in Sacramento next month. Omission of the date would constitute a misdemeanor. The bill would also require exhibitors to flash the date of production of every picture on the screen for at least five seconds. 'Weapon of War' Release Plans "Weapon of War," the Army Pictorial Service's cartoon film on Nazi divide-and-conquer propaganda methods, will soon be released in the Boston, New Haven and Philadelphia areas, the War Activities Committee announces. The film is being distributed on a regional basis, the New York and Los Angeles areas having been covered to date. It runs five and one half minutes. Paramount to Release 28 Total This Season Paramount will release a total of 28 features during 1944-45, which total includes the revised version of C. B. DeMille's "The Sign of the Cross," it was revealed by Charles M. Reagan, vice-president in charge of distribution at the company's regional meeting of New York, Boston and Buffalo district sales forces which concluded in New York on Tuesday. This represents a reduction of four pictures from the Paramount schedule of 32 released during the previous (1943-44) season. Sixteen of the pictures already have been released, leaving a total of 12 to come. Among these, Reagan said, will be two Hall B. Wallis productions, "The Affairs of Susan" and "You Came Along" ; the Pine-Thomas productions, "One Exciting Night," and "Scared Stiff," the wholly-Paramount produced "Incendiary Blonde," "A Medal for Benny," "Out of This World," and "Murder, He Says." Reagan declared at the opening session of the New York meeting on Monday that with the single exception of "Gone With the Wind," Paramount's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" has outgrossed every picture released on a roadshow basis. He declared that the company anticipates the highest ultimate gross ever registered by Paramount on any of its pictures for "FWTBT." Addressing the assemblage on the subject of advertising policy, R. M. Gillham, advertising and publicity director, said that every key engagement of "FWTBT" at popular prices will be backed up with big campaigns for which several hundred thousand dollars have been allocated for cooperative newspaper advertising. Gillham said the roadshow campaign for the picture entailed an expenditure of one million dollars, with that amount divided equally between national magazines and newspapers, the latter tieing in with local engagements. William H. Erbb, Eastern division manager, presided at the sessions which continued through Tuesday. Attending, in addition to home office executives, were District Manager, A. M. Kane, of Boston ; branch managers, salesmen and head bookers of New York, Boston, Buffalo, New Haven and Albany branch offices, and Boston and Buffalo district exploitation representatives. Winnipeg Projectionists Strike Is Called Off, But Not Settled Without reaching a settlement in the closed shop dispute which is referred to the Federal Labor Board, the four-day strike of lATSE projectionists at 18 Winnipeg theatres was called off this week. Twenty-eight men who left their posts were to have remained off duty until projectionists of six theatres ceased to be members of the One Big Union, an independent organization. These, men, however, continued in booths without break and without complying. Famous Players announced the strikers would be given full pay for the time lost in the walkout. Seven of the houses were Famous Players, while the others belonged to Western Theatres, Ltd. The striking operators were told by Mr. Justice Richards, chairman of the Manitoba War Labor Relations Board, that they had no right to coerce members of the One Big Union to change their union affiliation. Main purpose of the strike was to protest the existence of the rival union. Newsreel Men Honored Earl Crotchett and Irving Smith, Universal Newsreel War Correspondent photographers, wearing the seldom seen Philippines Liberation ribbon, were honored at a luncheon and press conference at Hampshire House this week. They have just returned following three years in the battle zones of the South Pacific theatre.