Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1949)

10 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, October 22, 1949 High Court Upholds Showmen ; Kills City Amusement Levy Attempts by the city of Brunswick, Ga., to impose a tax on theatre tickets failed this week as the State Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the city lacked authority to levy such an added tax in view of current city occupation tax. The high court reversed a lower court judgment made by Superior Court Judge Gordon Knox. The suit arose out of the fight put on by Publix-Lucas Theatres, which operates the Ritz, Bijou and Roxy in Brunswick, and Independent Exhibitor E. H. Diemmer of the Starlight. The exhibitors, in their complaint, charged that the city of Brunswick was prevented from charging more than $1,000 a year in occupational or license taxes from a single firm. Publix-Lucas said that it had already paid a $500 license tax and the new levy would add $3,000 a year to its tax bill. Diemmer said that the city had billed him already for his license tax and the ticket tax would amount to an additional $1,000 or more. In its opinion the Georgia Supreme Court said : "Since one occupation tax has been demanded of the (theatre operators) and actually paid as to one of them, the City of Brunswick was without authority to levy another and different occupation tax." Variety Clubs In Gotham for Delegates from 37 tents of the V ariety Clubs International located in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Great Britain, will open the third Midyear Conference of that organization in New York Tuesday afternoon for a three-day run at the Hotel Astor. The conference was to be preceded by a trip to the Variety Clubs-Will Rogers Hospital by the delegates who were to leave New York Sunday by special train and return Monday after inspecting the hospital plant. The report on the hospital's first four months of operation by Variety holds an important place on the conference agenda which includes : Reports to be Heard Reports of the International Officers, committee reports on the Great Heart Awards, historical data, scholarships in Phillips Exeter College, and the agreement reached by the Clubs with the American Guild of Variety Artists. This last covers an agreement by which the Variety Clubs pay Agva's sick fund $20,000 annually in return for which Agva wil! clear any talent needed for benefits given by the various Variety tents. The midyear conference will also decide whether the Club swill support the Motion Picture Industry Council and its public relations program. An innovation of the meetings will be an open forum at which all Tent representatives will be able to express themselves and offer suggestions, which, if approved by the meeting, will be referred back to the Tents for action. Schedule The conference's schedule follows ; Tues. Oct. 25 — Morning, registration until 2 P.M. at the College Room, eighth floor. Hotel Astor. Noon, Private luncheon with International Chief Barker Bob O'Donnell as host to the representatives of the Hospital and Finance Committees. 2 P.M. — First business session, in the College Room of the Astor Hotel. 6 P.M. — Reception, and dinner, hosted by the New York Tent in the Variety Club Rooms and North Garden, after which tent representa Triples No Go Balaban and Katz this week dropped the use of triple features at the Belmont in Chicago and returned to twin bills. They also returned to their policy of morning matinees for kids on Saturdays. Int^l to Gather Midyear Meet tives and their wives will be the guests of the New York Tent at various Broadway shows. Wed., Oct. 26 — Morning, 2nd business session. College Room. Noon, Luncheon for all delegates, ofiicers and guests. 2 P.M. — Third business session. College Room, Night, open for delegates and wives to visit night clubs and other spots in the Times Square area. Thurs., Oct. 27 — Morning, 4th business session. College Room. 2 P.M. — 5th business session, if necessary. Remainder of the day is open for shopping and sightseeing. 7 P.M. — Cocktail party and banquet in the Grand Ballroom of the Astor Hotel at w^hich the New York Tent will be officially inducted and presented with its charter from the International Tent. 'George Jessel, master of ceremonies, honored guests will include the Treasury Secretary John Snyder, who will receive from O'Donnell a gold membership card in the Variety Clubs International. Over 700 The New York Tent reports that over 700 reservations have already been received for the banquet which will be both broadcast and televised. The stage show will follow the limited speaking program and will be under the direction of Russell }vlarkett of Radio City Music Hall. The following are representatives of the various tents: Pittsburgh. Jim Balmer ; Cincinnati, Irving Sochin ; Detroit, Art Robinson; Cleveland, M. A. Mooney; Buffalo, William Dipson ; Albany, Charles Smakwitz : Indianapolis. Sam Switow ; Washington, Frank Boucher; Minneapolis, William Elson; Philadelphia. Michael Felt; Des Moines, Nathan Sandler; Omaha, Frank Van Husen; Dallas, William O'Donnell; Dayton, Roy Wells; Baltimore, Owen D. Weems and Joseph C. Grant: Memphis, Herbert Kohn ; Atlanta, E. E. Whitaker; Oklahoma City, J. C. Hunter; Boston, Joe Cifre, Harold Stoneman and William Koster; Charlotte, Scott Lett ; Los Angeles, Ezra Stern ; Grand Rapids. Phil Osterhouse; Toronto, Canada — J. J. Fitzgibbons and Morris Stein; Mexico City, Luis Montes; Toledo. Jack Lykes; New Haven, Barney Pitkin; San Francisco, Abe Blumenfeld and Jimmie O'Neal; Miami, George Hoover; Houston, John P. Goodwin; New York, Max A. Cohen and Denver. Pat McGee. Internationa! officers who will attend include: R. J. O'Donnell, International Chief Barker; Marc Wolf, 1st Assistant International Chief Barker; Jack Beresin, 2nd Assistant International Chief Barker; George Eby, International Dough Guy ; Chick Lewis, International Press Guy and Convention Director; Col. Bill McCraw, International Executive Director; Murray Weiss, International Property Master; Nate Golden, Chairman of the International Heart Committee. Special guests who will accompany the representatives to Saranac Lake for an inspection tour of the hospital are: Dr. Edgar Mayer, medical consultant in New York for the Hospital Board; Rabbi Bernard Birstein, head of the Actors' Temple in New York; Henry Dunn, officer of the American Guild of Variety Artists; and Ned Shugrue, public relations consultant. B&K Kiddie Shows For the first time in many years Balaban and Katz wall use its 4,000-seat Uptown Theatre, Chicago, for a Saturday morning kiddie show on Oct. 29 with a feature from MPAA children's list plus several cartoons at 25 cents admission. Tickets will be sold in the schools and elsewhere in advance. A similar kiddie show will be screened at the B&K Belmont on the same date. On Nov. 11 the circuit will have an Armistice Day show for children in the Belmont. The same type of show will be put on in other parts of the city as soon as arrangements can be completed. Make Bids Public, Demands PCCITO (Continued from Page 9) the American Arbitration Association. The decision would be final and binding upon all parties. I. E. Chadwick, president of the Independent Motion Picture Producers Association, was one of the speakers addressing the body. He told his audience that the ranks of independent producers was decreasing, their numbers having dropped from 250 to 90 and warned that independent exhibitors had a vital stake in preventing the death of independent production. Importance of the independent producer to the independent exhibitor was stressed to the convention by MonogramAllied Artists President Steve Broidy who told the group that independent producers needed the "active, real, wholehearted support" of the exhibitor. "The independent companies have been making available a reliable, constant source of supply to meet your needs. Without your active support, this supply must necessarily diminish in quantity and quality. Continued indifference can only bring one result — the disappearance entirely of a picture supply which I know is vital to your needs." Tri-States Ass^n Elects Connett Max A. Connett of Newton, Miss., was elected president of the Motion Picture Theatre Owners of Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee (TriStates) Wednesday at the 40th annual convention of that organization in the Hotel Chisca, Memphis. Connett succeeds W. F. Ruffin, who went to the board chairmanship. Other officers are : Vice-President Leon Roundtree for Mississippi, M. A. Lightman, Jr., for Tennessee and C. C. Mundo for Arkansas, and Secretary-Treasurer Dave P. Callahan. .The organization decided not to extend its membership to exhibitors from Kentuclcy but will eliminate the Tennessee River as its boundary line so that exhibitors from eastern Tennessee are eligible for membership. Gael Sullivan, executive director of the Theatre Owners of America, in an address attacking amusement taxes, told the convention that the average familj of four pays $35 a year in such taxes on movies. Twentieth Century-Fox Vice-President Al Lichtman told the meeting that while he believed exhibitor-distributor relationships were improving, "there are still too many law suits pending and being started." He urged exhibitors to consider arbitration saying "why not set up an arbitration system on the local levels in each exchange area?"