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SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, October 15, 1949
WHAT'S NEWS
In the Film Industry This Week
TELEVISION
In a Brooklyn bar a gentleman sitting over a glas of beer said he had seen every
one of the World Series games over television— right in that bar, and no sir, he wouldn't put up no $1.20 a seat to sit in a theatre to see it when he could get it along with beer much cheaper. This sour note was the only one heard this week as the World Series was played off in its entirety by six theatres in five cities of the United States which brought it to their audiences through the medium of television.
Post mortems showed: 1) That with only one exception were the games a sellout, but the audiences enjoyed them and managements in Boston, Chicago, Brooklyn, Milwaukee and Scranton had no kicks; 2) That probably admisisons were too high — both Milwaukee and Boston cut prices when crowds did not meet expectations, while the Comerford Westside at Scranton, which charged 30 cents, sold out and turned 'em away; 3) That the image was good, that there were still bugs to be ironed out, and that, in Scranton again, the image could be picked up from 130 miles away.
None of the participating theatres announced future plans, excepting that the Fabian Fox, Brooklyn, said it would continue its experiments. Several cities reported a public interest in football telecasts. Meanwhile New Jersey Allied reported that equipment costs to date were too heavy for the smaller exhibitor and that he would have to await either cheaper equipment or a system by which he could lease it.
In Washington, D .C, RCA exhibited its color television, which was regarded by
some observers as inferior at the moment to the CBS system which uses a mechanical scanner instead of electronics. In Louisville, Victor Sholis, manager of a radio station, told the Kentucky Association of Theatre Owners that theatres 50 miles away from a main television outlet need not fear it as competition for some time to come but that video nonetheless should be studied seriously as future competition.
LITIGATION
In Washington, before a red curtain, the justices of the U. S. Supreme Court as'
sembled Monday for the first decision day of their fall term and: 1) Refused Partmar the right to intervene in the Paramount consent decree in an effort to preserve its lease on the Los Angeles Paramount; 2) Refused Harry Norman Ball of Ambridge, Pa,, his petition to intervene in the same consent decree to protect his interests; 3) Refused to review an appeal carried to it by Hollingshead Park-In which owns patents on ramp drive-ins, against a ruling by the first U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals which invalidated the patents "for want of invention." Hollingshead had sued E. M. Loew for royalties and damages (P. 5). The case is considered important in that it may free drive-ins from any need to pay royalty payments and was so hailed by national Allied Counsel Abram F. Myers. Myers wasn't so happy though about the Justice Department's six-month extension of the time in which RKO must dispose of its theatres.
In Los Angeles the former owners of the Wilshire at Fullerton sued the eight majors
and National Theatres for $185,000 triple
damages alleging conspiracy to monopolize, and in the same city the Rex at Bakersfield sued National, Warner Bros., 20th-Fox and United Artists on the same general charge for $510,000. And still out on the West Coast Producer Benedict Bogeaus sued Paramount for $3,000,000 under the anti-trust laws charging monopoly. This was a counter suit to Paramount's efforts to foreclose on his "Lulu Belle."
EXHIBITION
Years and years ago, even before the folks who came over on the Mayflower
had forgotten its discomforts and turned it into a crest of nobility, the Pilgrim Fathers decided that any labor performed on Sunday was heinous and handed out some pretty stiff sentences to anyone who might open his mouth in gay song or joyous laughter. This week, in the year of 1949, Milton, a suburb of Boston, revived the ancient blue laws and prohibited all labor on the Sabbath — including lawn mowing and of course, exhibition of movies. A man presumably may still kiss his wife on that day.
Out in St. Louis the civil rights committee was again introducing an amendment to the new city charter which would prohibit discrimination in public places because of race, color or religion, and out in Overland, Mo., the board of aldermen there was considering a petition to change its mind about a drive-in so that St. Louis Amusement Company could build the country's first four-screener. But in Franklin County, Ohio, authorities stopped construction of a drive-in on a farm in an area restricted to farms and homes, and out in the Minnesota-Dakota area, exhibitors were inspecting damaged doors and marquees in the wake of a wind said to have reached 80 miles an hour.
DISTRIBUTION
Tom Bailey, Lippert distributor in Denver, is proposing a joint shipping center
at Albuquerque, N. M., to help solve shipping problems. Henry W. Kahn has joined Paramount as special sales chief for "Samson," and Toddy Pictures, handlers of Negro films, has announced a 1949-50 release schedule of 26 features, 15 musicals, 6 one-reelers and 11 two-reel comedies.
GENERAL
The American motion picture industry will benefit from tariff concessions granted
by Italy, Denmark, Finland and other countries, the Commerce Department claimed this week. Meanwhile Sen. Sheridan Downey told the Senate that American movies were doing a splendid job of carrying the "American mesage" even into places which the "Voice of America" could not reach and were doing it at great financial sacrifice because of European restrictions on films.
In Hollywood Cinecolor announced that it was processing its first feature by a three-color process.
Financial: Monogram — Net loss for year ending July 21, 1949, $1,108,433 compared
to $978,110, for same period 1948, despite a 1949 gross of $10,177,868 compared to a gross for 1948 of $9,030,906. Amortizing high budget pictures was given as the reason. Blocked foreign funds of $300,000 not included. Columbia — Quarterly dividend of $1.06 y4 on cumulative preferred declared payable Nov. 15, 1949.
DARRYL F. ZANUCK, who this week negotiated a new contract with 20th Century-Fox which extends his tenure of the vice-presidency in charge of production for 10 years and retains his services for an additional 10-year period after that in an advisory capacity. During this latter period Zanuck will have no "proprietary interests in other motion picture undertakings," President Spyros Skouras announced. .Zanuck .has .been .production chief ever since Fox merged with 20th Century in 1935.
Paramount Seeks Buyer For Butterfield Stock
Paramount Monday took another step to conform with the consent decree it reached in the Government anti-trust suit by which it agreed to theatre divorce and put up for sale its stock in some 113 houses operated by one of its partners, the two Butterfield companies in Michigan.
Paramount's holdings in the W. S. Butterfield Theatres, which operate 91 houses, is 37,500 shares of Class B stock or slightly more than 25 per cent of the outstanding stock. Its holdings in the Butterfield Michigan Theatres, which operates 22 theatres in smaller Michigan towns, is 6,940 shares of Class B, about one-third of the outstanding stock.
Coast-to-Coast Yaude
RKO will extend its vaudeville policy to the west coast on Oct. 26 when the Golden Gate ii San Francisco joins 14 other RKO Theatres in playing shows originating at the N. Y. Palace.
INDEX TO DEPARTOENTS
Advance Data 35
Audience Classifications 16
Box-Office Slants 16
Feature Booking Guide 30
Feature Guide Title Index 30
Hollywood 28
Newsreels Synopses 38
Pictures Started Last Week 35
Regional Newsreel 21
Selling the Picture 11
Shorts Booking Guide 37
Theatre Management 18
The Motion Picture Theatre Equipment and
Maintenance Begins Opposite Page 26
Views on New Shorts 39