Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1949)

14 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, November 12, 1949 Arnall Asks Justice Dept. To Investigate Fox West Coast The Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers this week formally called upon the Justice Department to investigate the 234-house Fox West Coast circuit, a subsidiary of National Theatres, as a monopoly. The move was coupled with a request that the Justice Department investigate monopolies on a local level everywhere with specific attention to theatre chains, in view of the rulings in the Government anti-trust suit, SIMPP President Ellis Arnall told Showmen's Trade Review. "We say that the Fox West Coast Theatres are a good place to start," Arnall declared, adding that list of 82 situtions where FWC operates without competition had been furnished the Justice Department. He said that his organization would press for a thorough break-up of theatre monopoly, especially of those houses that are the "fruits of monopoly," for otherwise the Gvernment anti-trust suit would be meaningless. NEWSREEL CLIPS Bid Deal for Little Folks Alurc than 3,00(t boys and girls crowded the Balaban and Katz Uptown recently on Saturday to see two hours of Roy Rogers and cartoons and to give the candy and popcorn stands a whale of a job. The attendance was so large that staffs from the other B&K houses nearby had to be called in to help out. B&K Ad Director Will Hollander says that increased community interest in the shows, along with that of Parent-Teacher Associations and women's clubs, have resulted in larger turnouts generally for kid shows. More Inspections Than . . . If you take it from the testimony of Andrew Spheeris in federal court at Chicago, his Towne, in Milwaukee, must have passed more inspections than an army recruit in his first three months. The Towne, which is suing the eight majors for $1,050,000 triple damages in connection with alleged monopoly was, Spheeris declared, inspected first for rubbish. Then plumbing inspectors came in and wanted more plumbing facilities. Then along came the electrical inspector. But the payoff, Spheeris may think, came when an assistant inspector of marquees reportedly told him that a poster under glass was inflammable. Spheeris claims the inspectors told him that the rival exhibition chain, which originally had the Towne, had complained about his situation. Warners Increase 1950 Shorts Production Warner Bros, this week announced a shorts production plan of 50 two-reelers and 30-onc Film Events Calendar NOVEMBER 14. directors' meeting. Associated Theatre Owners of Indiana, Hotel Lincoln, Indianapolis. 15-16, convention, Associated Theatre Owners of Indiana, Hotel Lincoln, India napolis. 16, tenth anniversary dinner. Motion Pic ture Pioneers, Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York City. DECEMBER 1-2, convention. Independent Theatre Owners of Wisconsin. Hotel Schrooder IVIil waukpp 6-7, third annual convention. Allied Theatre Owners of the Gulf States, Jung Hotel. New Orleans. 12-13, meeting of the Conference Committee of the Motion Picture Industry, Washington, D. C. reel cartoons, which tops last year's total of 43 two-reelers and 28 cartoons. The schedule includes eight two-reelers in Technicolor ; six black and white two-reelers ; six Vitaphone Novelties ; six Joe McDoakes, 10 Sports Parades, six sports novelties and eight band shorts. The 30 cartoon program consists of Bugs Bunny, Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes. Jack Broder Heads Realart Jack Broder, former vice-president of Realart succeeded his brother Paul as president this week. Other officers elected are Board Chairman and Treasurer Norman Eisenstein; Executive Vice-President Budd Rodgers, and Secretary Alex Alexander. Ring Doorbells In Tax Campaign, Urges TOA The Theatre Owners of America this week appealed to its members and to exhibitors in general to carry their campaign for the reduction of the federal amusement taxes to the front doors of their senators and congressmen as the scions go home in the Nov. 15-Jan. 1 vacation period. In his suggestion for this door-to-door campaign TOA Executive Director Gael Sullivan makes seven points for exhibitors to follow : They are : 1) That movies are mass entertainment serving 90,000,000 people weekly and hence not a luxury. , 2) The majority of movie patrons are in low and middle income brackets, hence the tax on those least able to pay it. 3) Remission of admission taxes would make for more spending money to be used on other commodities in the communities : 4) Movies rank with newspapers and radios. There are no excise taxes on the latter. 5) Seek aid of Parent-Teacher Associations and other civic welfare groups who may believe that movies help by keping children oi¥ the street and get them behind the tax reduction or remission movement. 6) Seek support of Chambers of Commerce by pointing out that movies bring trade to towns from surrounding districts. 7) Get out after local newspaper support ; point out that excise taxes deprive the community of purchasing power. Paramount Decree Gets Added Time For Michigan The New York federal statutory court this week further amended the Paramount consent decree so that Paramount will have three years to dispose of its joint theatre holdings in Michigan, Detroit excepted. Legal circles regarded the move as designed esepecially to cover the Butterfield circuit situation and to change the decree to conform to present day conditions. They buttress this view by noting that Detroit is not included in the extension and thus United Theatres, a Paramount partnership, does not come under the terms. Originally Butterfield was partially owned by Paramount and RKO, both of whom had been anti-trust suit defendants. Under the consent decree, where Paramount held a circuit or a theatre with another defendant, such as it did with RKO in the Butterfield situation, it had until Nov. 8, 1949, to divest. However, RKO has since sold its Butterfield interests to nondefendants in the anti-trust suit and this places the circuit from a practical view in the same category of those in which Paramount has an interest with other non-defendants. These situations had a three year divestiture limit, with the houses to be disposed of at the rate of onethird for each year. Warners Appeal In K-B|Action (Continued from Page 11) K-B in the MacArthur, K-B sued to force a dissolution which would have been accomplished by forcing Stanley to sell its 50 per cent interest to K-B at book value. The lower court dismissed this request. Stanley countered with a request that the corporation be dissolved, its assets sold on the market and the receipts divided between Stanley and K-B. The lower court denied this. A third party, the Kass Realty Company, attempted to intervene over a contract to build anotlier theatre. The court dismissed this. .A.11 three are now before the Court of Appeals. Theatre Television Petitions to be Filed First of a series of approximately 25 petitions from exhibitors and their organizations asking for hearings on theatre television were due to be filed with the Federal Communications Commission in Washington this week. The move, spearked by the Theatre Owners of America and its television counsel, Marcus Cohn, will highlight individual needs and problems. Non-TOA organizations are also participating, Cohn said. Orchids for Mr. Writer Rep. Helen Gahagan Douglas (D. Calif.) this week read into the Congressional Record a tribute to the Screen Writers Guild's aid in a campaign to build a $5,000,000 polio hospital at Los Angeles. Commenting on the move, she declared that "few groups of professional workers in America have contributed so freely of the time and talents of its membership to public causes than the Screen Writers Guild of America."