Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1944)

SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW December 16, 1944 Film Men Prominent yVAen Are Tickets Valid? At Tel evision Meet Motion picture men, representing production, distribution and exhibition branches of the industry, were prominent among the thousand and more delegates who registered at the Television Broadcasters Association conference in New York this week. Further manifestation of the apparent determination of the industry to take a leading role in the development and handling of television as an amusement enterprise was found in the active part played by representatives of the film field in events of leading importance on the conference agenda. Opinion expressed by motion picture men queried after the demonstration of home broadcasting and reception in connection with the dinner for delegates Monday night was to the efifect that there "was no doubt that television is ready now for practical application to programs for the home." Theatre television remains an unknown quantity as to the anticipated time when adequate screen quality plus the kind of service eventually to develop. It is practical now to deliver reproduction on theatre screens of a quality of image of about fifty per cent of the present standard of high grade motion picture production. Among the motion picture men seen at the sessions of the conference were E. V. Richards, New Orleans, Samuel Pinanski and Martin Mullen, Boston ; Louis Finske and Charles A. Ryan, Scranton ; Nathan Goldstein, Springfield, Mass. ; Barney Balaban, Leonard Goldenson, Paul Raiburn, A. J. Richard, Paramount ; S. Barrett McCormick, RKO Radio; Ralph Austrian and Thomas H. Hutchinson, RKO Radio Television Corp. Speakers at the motion picture theatre panel meeting during the conference were : Paul Raiburn, Dr. B. W. Epstein, RCA ; Ralph Beal, RCA; Ralph Austrian. Discussions at the conference were concerned chiefly with the technical advances made since pre-war television was applied in homes and on large screens in limited theatre demonstrations, as well as aspects of the type of entertainment that will be developed for the new entertainment medium. Paramount Asks FCC Permission To Build Television Stations Television Productions, Inc., a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures this week filed with the FCC request for permission to construct a series of television relay stations in Vermont, New York City, Buffalo, Detroit, El Paso, Des Moines, Chicago and Los Angeles. Through subsidiaries and affiliations. Paramount now has two television stations in operation, one in Los Angeles and the other, the B & K station, in Chicago. 300 Holiday Week Bookings Nearly 300 Christmas and New Year week engagements for "Frenchman's Creek" had been contracted for up to Tuesday of this week. INDEX TO DEPARTMENTS Advance Dope 35 Box-Office Slants 13 Current Product Summary 40 Feature Booking Guide 36 Feature Guide Title Index 39 Hollywood 34 Newsreel Synopses 33 Program Exchange 14 Regional Newsreel 24 Selling the Picture 19 Shorts Booking Guide 41 Short Subject Reviews 32 Whether tickets purchased in the afternoon are valid for an evening performance is the cardinal point brought in a suit by Verne Benjamin, attorney, against the Broadway Theatre, Council Bluffs, la., for $1000 damages, and $1.05 for refund. Benjamin, his wife and step-daughter, were refused admittance to an evening performance Dec. 3 on tickets purchased that afternoon, by Al Yohe, the theatre's manager. The claimant states he bought the tickets at 5:45 p.m. and presented the tickets at 6:20 p.m. Yohe claims that an inspection of the ticket numbers showed the tickets had been sold shortly after 4 p.m. and that a complete performance had been presented in the interim. "Degrading insinuations" causing "mental anguish" are charged against the management. 'U' to Help Exhibitors Promote New Stars Pointing out that during the next five years new stars will be one of the motion picture industry's most crucial problems, William A. Scully, Universal vicepresident and general sales manager, addressing the three-day meeting of the company's sales executives and district managers last weekend, emphasized that Universal's sales forces will work closely with exhibitors in an effort to develop extra interest in the promotion of new personalities. "We feel that exhibitors, as well as producers and distributors, have a primary obligation to lend whatever assistance they can in the development of new personalities," said Scully. "In the final analysis it is the exhibitor who makes the stars because he is the one who actually brings new personalities before the public." W. A. Scully Korda Here to Plan Expanded Production Sir Alexander Korda, chairman of the board and managing director of MGM Films Ltd., told a press conference in New York this week that the first goal of the British film industry is to make pictures as well or better than anyone else, thus to insure the success of the contemplated expansion of production in England. Within five years after peace, 50 per cent of British playing time will be given to British films he said, adding that British interests look for from eight to ten per cent of American playing time in order to "aiTord the luxury of American films" through a balance of trade. Before the war, he said, there was a "one way trade" by which about 20,000,000 pounds were taken out of England by American films, with very few British pictures being shown here. Wappaus for Home In RKO Contract Dept. Robert Alochrie, general sales manager of RKO Radio, this week promoted Herbert E. Wappaus, manager of the contract department to succeed William M. Horne in national circuit sales. Horne left Friday (IS) to assume the post of Eastern representative for Tack Skirball. Goverment Upheld In Crescent Case The United States Supreme Court this week decided against the Crescent Amusement Company in its appeal from a decree entered into in 1943 in Tennessee District Court ordering dissolution of affiliation with other theatre chains. The majority opinion, written by Justice Douglas, went beyond rejection of the Crescent appeal to prohibit acquisition by Crescent of additional theatres outside of Nashville, thus further strengthening the Department of Justice position with respect to anti-trust proceedings in the consent decree and other actions involving motion picture exhibition. Conclusion of the decree upheld by the Supreme Court was that the theatre chain combination had established a program of film licensing aimed to eliminate competition of independently owned theatres. Commanding the interests to divest themselves of any stock held by each other, the decree ordered dissolution of the combination. Seven exhibitors or corporations, operating theatres in small towns in five states, as well as three individuals, were found guilty of violating the act by the Tennessee decree. Exhibitors were the Crescent, Cumberland, Lyric, Cherokee, Kentucky, Muscle Shoals and Rockwood Amusement companies. The decree was construed by the corporations as "practical confiscation" of their properties, but the Supreme Court upheld Judge Davies in finding that the exhibitors broke the law by "creating and maintaining an unreasonable monopoly" of theatre operation" ; "combining its closed towns with its competitive situations in licensing films" ; and "coercing or attempting to coerce independent operators." 3 From 20th-Fox in January "Keys of the Kingdom," "The Fighting Lady" and "The Way Ahead" will be released by 20th Century-Fox during January. The three films comprise block number six of the company's 1944-45 product. Robert Polliard (The Man on the Cover) Eastern district manager of RKO Radio who IS celebrating his twenty-fith year with the company and who this week was named Captain of the Ned Depinet Drive for 1945. Fol-liard's association with his company goes back to the old Robertson-Cole firm that was the foundation for the present RKO Radio Corporation. He served in World War I with the U. S. Navy, and in film distribution has worked his way up from salesman. Folliard was Washington branch manager for the company in 1942 when he was appointed to his present post. SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW Title and Trade Mark Registered U. S. Patent Offict Published every Friday by Showmen'i Trade Review Inc., 1501 Broadway, New York 18, N. Y. Telephont BRyant 9-5606. Charles E. "Chick" Lewis, Editor and Publisher; Tom Kennedy, Associate Editor; Jamei A. Cron, General Manager; David Harris, Businesi and Circulation Manager; Harold Rendall, Equip ment Advertising Manager; West Coast Office, 677/ Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood 28, California; Tele phone Hollywood 2055. Ann Lewis, manager. Erfi Raiden, West Coast Editor. London Representative. Milton Deane, 185 Fleet St., London E.C. 4; Aui tralian 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: SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW 1501 Broadway, New York 18, N. Y.