Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1944)

I Pcccnihcr 30. 1044 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW Exhibitors* Action Sets Court Precedent An unusual aspect in cuurt procedure occurred in the Pittsburgh area this week wherein a counter suit by exhibitors, as defendants, took precedence over a distributors complaint, which was entered prior to the action by the exhibitors. The circumstances surround the action brought by 24 independent exhibitors against the major companies set for trial next Jan. 22, and is the outgrowth of the case brought against the film companies in August after the distributors had filed an action against substantially the same plaintififs for allegedly falsifying box-office reports on pictures rented on a percentage basis. Filed by Morris Roth, theatre operator of Duquesne and Swissville, Pa., in his own behalf and 23 other exhibitors, the plaintiffs asked that the distributors be enjoined from continuing alleged monopolies and acting in concert to require payment of higher percentage rates than allegedly charged to affiliated theatres. The court was also asked in their behalf to declare license agreements unlawful, to hold certain provisions of the agreements unenforceable and to issue an injunction preventing the defendants from attempting to have the plaintiffs disclose confidential business details. MGM Auditors to Hold Annual Meeting at Astor Next Week Twenty-six home office executives headed by William F. Rodgers, vice-president and general sales manager, will attend the annual MGM auditors meeting scheduled to be held at the Astor Hotel next week, it was jointly announced by Charles K. Stern, assistant treasurer, and Alan F. Cummings, in charge of exchange operations. Stern and Cummings will conduct the sessions, while Rodgers is slated to address the group. Others who will attend include : Edward M. Saunders, assistant general sales manager ; E. K. (Ted) O'Shea, Eastern sales manager; Edwin W. Aaron, circuit sales head ; H. M. Richey, in charge of exhibitor relations ; Harold Postman, assistant to Cummings ; William G. Brenner, in charge of exchange maintenance, and Max Wolfe, purchasing head. Also, A. J. Nelson, chief statistician for the sales department; Pincus Sober and Ben Melniker of the legal department ; William Gleicher, Jay Gove, Nat Eisenstadt, Leonard Pollock, Harold J. Cleary, Mike Simons, Rose Klein, Charles Quick, Joel Bezahler, Charles F. Deesen, Leonard Hirsch, Paul Richrath, Bea Lustig, Matilda Green and Geraldine Hawkins. York Releasing Deal Set Emerson Yorke Studio of New York has contracted with the Sodeco Trading Corp., for snort subject releases in the Near East comprising Iran, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Turkey. First product to be released in 1945 under the deal are two short subjects in color, "The Ninth State," and "Highways of New England." Broidy Plans Exchange Tour Steve Broidy, Monogram vice-president and general sales manager, wall leave Hollywood January 5 on a country-wide tour of the company's exchanges. Trip will require approximately three months. Golden Productions Organized With the dissolution of Edward A. Golden Productions, Inc., its successor, Golden Productions, Inc., will carry on the production activities of Edward A. Golden. Best Screen Voices Awards for the best motion picture voices of 1944 were announced this week by the New York Institute of Voice Teachers through its president, Mrs. J. D. Parsily. Those who will receive special citations "for diction, clarity and 'sex-in-voice' appeal" are Charles Bickford, Ellen Drew, Martha Tilton, Walter Pidgeon, Nina Foch, George Brent, Lauren Bacall, Mary Anderson, Gene Tierney and Jean Fontaine. For the first time, no British actor or actress was represented on the tenbest voice list. 'Going My Way' Voted 1944's Best by Critics Paramount's "Going My Way" was selected as the best picture of 1944 by the New York Film Critics, the critics announced in their newspapers Thursday. Barry Fitzgerald's role of Father Fitzgibbons in the picture was voted the best male performance of the year, and producer-director Leo McCarey was named for the most outstanding directorial job. Award for the best performance by an actress went to Tallulah Bankhead for her role in 20th Century-Fox's "Lifeboat." Special recognition was voted to the U. S. Army for factual films of the war, with special commendation for "The Memphis Belle" and "Attack! (The Battle for New Britain,)." Sixteen critics of the major metropolitan press voted by secret ballot. "Going My Way" won on the third ballot over Paramount's "Hail the Conquering Hero" and 20 th Century-Fox's "Wilson." Fitzgerald's victory came on the first ballot, nosing out Bing Crosby, nominated for his work in "Going My Way," Alexander Knox for "Wilson" and Fred MacMurray for "Double Indemnity." Film Trade Flourishes in Bagdad Says RCA Distributor for Iraq The celluloid romances of Hollywood hold prime interest for the present-day Bedouin in Arabia, according to Hafidh Al-Kadi, RCA Victor distributor in Iraq, and a member of the Iraq delegation which attended the International Business Conference at Rye, N. Y. Sayid Hafidh, who distributes RCA motion picture equipment throughout Iraq, visited the RCA Victor headquarters in Camden where he was received by Jay D. Cook, managing director of the company's international department. The RCA Victor distributor revealed that the Arabs love motion pictures, and that the business is flourishing in Arabian cities. Ancient Bagdad alone, he said, maintains a dozen fine theatres, and at present there are three or four more under construction. Said Sayid Hafidh ; "We obtain the best American and English films that we can get. However, our own Arabian-language films are also very popular and these are produced in studios at Cairo. The Arabian moviegoer doesn't seem to have marked preference for this star and that star, liking all the box-office favorites impartially. What is more important to them is a good narrative." Berg Back to United Artists Herb Berg, who for the past three months has 'been on leave from United Artists and assigned by Carl Leserman to Harry Brandt, national chairman of the industry's 6th War Loan drive, returned to the UA home otifice Tuesday. During the drive. Berg handled all trade paper publicity under John Hertz, Jr., national publicity director for the 6th War Loan drive. 7 Name 'Lonely Heart' Best Drama of Year Best dramatic and documentary films of the year were RKO Radio's "None But the Lonely Heart" and the Army Air Forces' "Memphis Belle," released through Paramount, according to the nineteenth annual selection of the National Board of Review announced this week. The board's committee on exceptional photoplays chose as the ten best pictures of the year, in order of preference, the following: "None But the Lonely Heart" (RKO), "Going My Way" (Para.), "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" (Para.), "Hail the Conquering Hero" (Para.), "The Song of Bernadette" (20thFox), "Wilson" (20th-Fox), "Meet Me in St. Louis" (MGM), "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" (MGM), "Thunder Rock" (English) and "Lifeboat" (20th-Fox). Best documentary films, in order of preference, were "Memphis Belle," "Attack!" (the Battle for New Britain), "With the Marines at Tarawa," "Battle for the Marianas" and "Tunisian Victory." Chosen for outstanding performances were Ethel Barrymore and June Duprez in "None But the Lonely Heart," Ingrid Bergman in "Gaslight" (MGM), Eddie Bracken and Franklin Pangborn in "Hail the Conquering Hero," Humphrey Bogart in "To Have and Have Not" (WB), Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald in "Going My Way," Betty Hutton in "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek," and Margaret O'Brien in "Meet Me in St. Louis." The board's large reviewing committee chose as "the most popular films of the year" the following: "Going My Way," "Wilson," "The Song of Bernadette," "Since You Went Away" (UA), "None But the Lonely Heart," "Meet Me in St. Louis," "Dragon Seed" (MGM), "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo," "Laura" (20thFox) and "The White Cliffs of Dover" (MGM). Columbia Exploiteers to Confer On 'A Song to Remember' Campaign ^ Special plans for the exploitation of Columbia's forthcoming Technicolor production, "A Song to Remember," will be discussed with divisional exploitation managers on January 2nd and 3rd at a conference called by Frank P. Rosenberg, Columbia's director of' advertising and publicity, and Harry K. MacWilliams, national exploitation manager. The meetings wil be held in New York with the following field exploiteers attending : Ed Rosenbaum, Philadelphia; Abe Bernstein, Boston ; Lee Septembre, Washington ; Jules V. Serkovich, Chicago; William Shirley, Detroit and Henry G. Morris, Dallas. Columbia'sexploiteers on the West Coast will not be present, it was said. Radio City, Center Theatre Employes Receive Xmas Bonus Employes of Radio City Music Hall and the Center Theatre received a Christmas bonus of a week's salary up to a maximum of $100 for those employed a year or more, and graduated amounts depending on salary and length of service for those who joined the organization in 1944. This establishes a precedent for the Rockefeller Center organizations, since it is the first time in their history that a Christmas bonus has been paid out.