Variety (Nov 1940)

Wednesday* November 6, 1940 PICTURES Angle on the consent decree brought up last week by Abram P. Myers, Allied general counsel, has intrigued both distribution, arid exhibition interests in New York, providing something to ponder over, it4s said, before the hearing Nov. 14. • Squawks that gave rise to the Government • suit, Myers pointed out, were that the major companies by their theatre holdings created a monopoly in restraint of trade. Consent decree, he said, will; only serve to freeze for three years the status quo of the ma j ors' theatre holdings, ; In other words, Myers maintained; . the Government by its own action is fostering the continuation Of a monopoly, exactly opposite to what it started to do when it brought the anti-trust proceedings; Con- trols • placed upon the maj ors in the decree, Myers admitted, will pre- vent them from flagrantly exercising monopoly privilege as they have done in the past, but nevertheless the monopoly itself is being con- tinued under U. S, sancjibri., Buffalo, Nov. 5. :-. Charges that officers of National Allied had openly betrayed the mem- bership ; of the organization were "made by. Max A. Cohen, president of Allied. Theatre Owners of New York, in an address before a meeting of the Syracuse group of the M.P.T.O. of N. Y. State, Inc., * at the Hotel Syracuse last Thursday (31). •I openly charge/ said Cohen, that Commissioners Abram S. Myers and . Col. H. A. Cole, for purposes of their own, deliberately sold the exhibitors down the ; river/ Cohen, discussing the history of the trade code as pro- posed by the distributors: and Allied nt Chicago and subsequent develop- ments in the Government suit,; out- lined the . negotiations .at. Chicago leading up to the acceptance in prin- ciple by National Allied of the pro- posals of the distributors with . re- 'spect to; the code. He stated that after, public acceptance by Allied of the code, Myers and Cole had repu- diated the agreement against the ex- pressed wishes of the rank and file; of the membership.. : According to Cohen, Myers'. and Cole's avowed acceptance of the. con- sent decree was in direct contravene tion of the sentiments of National Allied, which has stated its opposi- tion thereto.' He outlined the pro- vision of the code, pointing out that irk his opinion it amounted to a com- plete victory, for the producers and distributors . over the Government, and in his support, of his cohteritiori- cited verbatim sections of the code of trade practices as agreed upon , at Chicago . arid then compared them word for word with sections of the consent decree as now formulated. He concluded that the practices and procedure imposed upon the industry under the decree would make it prac- tically impossible for the smaller' ex- hibitors to continue in business. Officers ' At the business session of the meeting, Sidney L. Grossman of Syr- acuse was elected a v.p. of the new :state: organization and J. Myer Schine, Gloversville; Ray Pashley, Interlaken, and Jack Karp and Rbp- ley Merrimari; Syracuse, were elect- ed directors for the Syracuse district. Others officers and directors are: President, A. Charles Hayrhan, of Buffalo arid Niagara Falls; vicC^-presr■ ; ident, Vincent H; McFaul; secretary, Marion O. Bueth, both of Buffalo; di- rectors, Vincent R; McFaul. Nicholas J. Basil, Jacob Lavene, George A. Gammei and Henry Dillemuth, all of -Buffalo; John A. Reed, Gbwanda; Merritt A. Kyser, East Aurora; Michael, J. Kallet, Oneida; Michael Carr and William Cadoret, Rbches- ■ ter; Arden. D. Gould, Frankliriville., ■ i '•,The meeting.w5s also addressed by Sidney B. Pfeiffer, Buffalo, counsel for the organization. r Hayman, who presided, stated to the meeting that the association now embraced 200 affiliated and unaffiliated theatres, including both individual and .circuit operated houses, and that an eventual membership of 250 ' theatres irt the upper New York State area? was in Prospect by the first of the year. . Strongest Single Unit' Jo MPTOA _ Effecting close harmony between the upstate Motion Picture Theatre Owners and the. downstate Allied -Theatre Owners of N. Y., Max A. (Continued on page 20) Gal Who Came to Warners . Hollywood, Nov. ■ 5. •'• Mary Wicks, currently in . the Broadway play, 'The Man Who Came to Dinner,' is the first member of the stage cast to be signed by Warpers for the filih version. . Filming starts early next year; with George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart producing on the Burbank lot, ; Warners is dickering with Edith Atwater, femme lead in 'Man Who Came to Dinner,' to repeat the part in the picture version. Hollywood, Nov. 5. Consensus among the top execs in the film studios is that the consent decree, dissolving the Government's anti-trust suit against the major pic- ture companies, will in no way cur- tail the number of features pro- duced annually in Hollywood.. Pro- ducers are agreed that the only thing that will curb the current flow of production is the- demise of double bills, arid that will mean a higher quality^J/LJess. numerically, in the making of pictures. Better pictures, execs admit,, will necessitate an infusion of new ideas in the production ranks. and a re- lease of new ideas in the produc- tion ranks and a release of run-of- the-mine producers who have been hanging on through personal friend- ships and studio politics. MacKENNA'S METRO HUDDLE ON SCRIPTS on Thursday (14) Will Find Ex- hibitors Staging Blitzkrieg Its Proviso* Before Goddard in New York-—Indie* and Affili- ates Alike Object to Divers Clauses LEADERS CONVERGE Kenneth MacKenna, Coast story editor for : Metro, arrived in New York Monday (4) for confabs with eastern production department heads. Principal discussioris are. with vice- prez Robert J, Rubin arid story ed- itor William Fadiman on prelimi- naries .to purchase of properties for the 1941-42 season. MacKenna will be east about two weeks. ■ during which he's also gan- dering the Broadway shows. Talkitones Go for Spin .'■ Hollywood, Nov. 5. : First batch of Hollywood Talki- tones goes. into work, at the Hal' Roach studios this week with Herb Moulton in charge of production and Cecil B, De Mille in an advisory ca- pacity. Company holds a national conven- tion here Nov. 18-20 to familiarize salesmen with jukebox machines and product. .Morry and Fr-arik Kizinsky, vice-president, are in charge of dis^ tribution. - "' Following careful study of the con- sent decree in all its rarhiflcationsj including 'jokers' which .. sus- pected here and there, exhibition, forces are .girding.'for a last-ditch and- desperate fight against accept- ance of the agreement by the Federal courts when a hearing is held Thurs- day (14). t is doubtful just how far theatre owner associations and. indi- vidual operators may be abie . to carry their , offensive but all indica- tioris are that the opposing exhibitor factions are going: to retreat only after being badly licked. . A blitz • agairist the. decree is an-. ticipated at the outset Thursday (14) in the hopes of turning the court quickly towards a considerate arid sympathetic view of the exhibitor complaints which: have arisen over the decree. Hearing will be held be- fore Judge Henry W. Goddard in New York. Should the coUrt be dis- posed to listen to the full extent of the exhibitor squawks concerning the decree arid permit detailed grounds for such squawks •'. to be aired, it may be that the retailers of film will have a. chance. Pending the Nov. 14 hearing, how- ever, it is impossible to predict what status the. aggrieved exhibition pha- lanx will enjoy before the court. During the: past week exhibitors and exhib . organizations, including lead- ers and attorneys, have been exam- ining the decree minutely in prepa- raUon for a battle to prevent its signing. While it has been intimated that the Court may give only small heed to exhibitor protests and stymie efforts for intervention, exhibs may come, in under what is known as 'athlcus curiae' (friends of the Court). ,'■ In the event of; frustration, it is re- ported efforts may be made to obtain injunctions restraining the Court from accepting the consent decree based upon the: opposition of the "ex-- hibition field generally to it. Should an application for a temporary in- junction be denied, it may be that an appeal will be made to the Cir- cuit Court of Appeals. This, in turn, might delay the signing of the agree- ment between Government and dis- tributors for several months. According to Schechter, N. Y. Allied will make application to in- tervene and believes an unfavorable ruling by Judge . Goddard may .'be'-.!, carried to. the Circuit Court Of Appeals. Opposition on the theatre side of the fence to the decree will. come j not only from leading independent exhibitor associations and leaders | but also from R. B. Wilby and Fred j Kent, cpmmittee of two representing | all the Paramount partners who were . first' to- start the ball rolling I against the settlement. agreement f; some months ago. • ; j Reports that, the Par ■' partners { would withdraw their . opposition ! Went into-circulatibii during the past j week. To these rumors,-Wilby states ( from Atlanta: .. : 'I will be and I expect Kent will be in; New York at decree . hearing oh 14th. . I am no less opposed to consent decree now than from begin- ning and if there has' :been any change of opinion on the part of any other southern Paramount partner.; I do not know of it. ■ if }we were; di- rectly involved as defendants surely we' • would, have been present at all of those conferences, so surely we can't be defendants.' Impression had prevailed in some quarters, including .. among certain Par partners, that they, woiild legally (Continued on page 21) Maybe a Poor Connection v.Y Hollywood, Nov. 5. Joan Bennett checked out of the cast of Hal Roach's 'Topper Re- turns' because the roie did not suit her. Understood, the part will be taken over by Carole Landis. : Miss Bennett is reported to have accepted the role when it was de- scribed to her over the loqg distance phone in New York two. weeks ago, but withdrawn when she found the script did .not coincide with the tele- phonic description, ... • The Stanley-Warner company has apparently embarked -on a policy of appeasement with, the indies in an effort to stem the tide of anti-trust suits Which, for a time, threatened to assume landslide proportions.. Quietly indies who: have squawks against the chain arid the major dis- tribs have been taken aside and their grievances, have been ironed Out. Counsel for both sides have come to the ..agreement that litigation in /the courts is expensive to. both sides and wind up in washing: the indus- try's dirty linen in public. The.consent decree and threat of Government intercession into the ; situash here is also a factor in the out-of-court deals on the fire. First of . the suits to be settled: out of court was that of Harry Fried, owner of three houses on the Main Line. Shortly afterward David Mil- gram, head of the Affiliated Theatre chain, dropped his suit when his differences with the majors and the' S-W were Ironed out. This was,, fol- lowed by a settlement between War- ners and William Goldman in which product of their houses in. German- town was pooled. This week Morris Wolf, S-W attor- ney, revealed that negotiations had begun for an out-of-court adjustment of the $225,000 damage suit brought by Reuben Shapiro, operator of the Admiral in North Philly. ■ Wolf said he believed 'an equitable settlement' was in the offing. ; 'With all the headaches besetting the industry from the outside, we've decided that we shouldn't be fighting among ourselves,' he said. 'We've got. to hang together ^ or we'll find j that we'll be hanging separately:' . j .^.I.t.^.wa's ; -als.6'reliabiy^- : reported' ; that' feelers have been sent.out for a set-! tlemerit of. the' three-year-old suit • against Warners filed-by the Carman, | which; is. -ribw under reeeivership„ : ■ :. Only, outstanding - Suit against 'the j circuit, now: is one fllcd last, fall. by . Henry Friedman, operator of the' Lansdowi.ie'. It has not yet been | listed for trial. wobber, McCarthy to coast on new films Herman •' Wobber, 20th-Fox sales- manager, left last week on month's trip to the Coast. He's making a number of stops at branches on the way out and back, having already covered Chicago. He's how in. San Francisco. ..a ;• Charles \ McCarthy, 20th: pub-ad head, leaves in' a couple weeks for a quickie .visit to the studio. He's aiming toget a gander at 'Western Union,' 'Chad Hanria' and 'Tin Pari Alley* to size up cainpaigris planned for them. Washington, Nov. 5. ' Clauses containing jokers or giv- ing inadequate protection for inde- pendent theatre owners will ■ cause Allied States Association , to oppose approval of the film anti-trust suit consent decree. Definite wanting that the major's worst gadfly will buzz around the New York court- room is contained in a 6,000-word analysis sent by Abram F. Myers, general counsel and board chairman, to all trade group • members last week. ' : . "V ■■. ;. Although generally pleased with the arbitration features, and agreeing many . sections contain some relief, the Allied, head registeredl stern dis- approval of the five-picture package scheme, assailed the Justice Depart- ment . for shelving the divorcement phase of the bill of complaint, charged the. 'escape' clause, contradicts the Sherman Act, and concluded the truce as a whole is more 'beneficial to the defendants than to their customers. He also was . piqued because only five of the eight companies are will- ing, to sign up and because. the pro- posed settlement still would . allow the participants to favor their own affiliated: houses. The features of the proposal which Myers, finds- most, acceptable deal with arbitration, though he still i* suspicious that . the machiriery may be operated in a manner that will hurt complaining exhibs.; Particular objections are that the adjustment of controversies will be delayed and theatre owners may be saddled with huge expenses.' Extreme care must be exercised—though the American Arbitration . Association was com- mended — that the majors do not dominate the . panels by getting stooges named as clerks orT appeal board and; in similar capacities, the Allied leader fears. . : Veiled suggestion that the D. of J. was high-pressured by prominent Democrats is made in the Myers an- alysis. Though he says he does not want to make insinuations, the Allied head is avowedly suspicious of the trust-busters since they agreed to shelve '. the . divorcement plea and have approved a • provision dealing with producer-exhibitor connections that he feels is wholly unenforced able. ;.'■.';■' Gov't Brushoff Aside from Myers, about the only beef reaching Government ears is the Motion Picture Research Coun- cil's. Through its legislative com- mittee, the reform outfit, which has been in forefront of the Neely bill crusade, termed the proposed, decree 'very disappointing,' This crowd, as might have been expected, is irate about, the escape clause and still be- lieves only a legislative ban On group rentals will provide -the right /of 'community selection' for" which it has clamored. - The long Myers analysis, noting that a consent decree cannot be. used as a basis for private suits to re- cover triple damages, indicates some appreciation for the trade showing, requirement, the bah against forcing shorts, the obligation - to lease filrns some run to reputable exhibs, arid for the attempt to curb circuit buy-- ing power. But Allied considers un^ satisfactory the sections concerning withholding prints, 'rejection of . films on moral grounds, discrimination ori runs, and the escape clause. , Strong criticism is, directed at: the . fiverpicture rental innovation. While some of the conditions seem pleas- ing, Myers charges that distribs still can : punish - exhibs by packing de- sired groups with stale or unwanted numbers and the new arrangerhent deprives exhibs of present cancel- lation privileges, may lead to-higher rentals, and may cut off ani assured, continuous supply of product.,. • In regard to forcing. westerns,. newsreels, foreigns, etc., Myers said the decree clauses 'a re. clear-cut and unequivocal'. . He added that the de- . cree. on this point 'is a great 'ad-' vance over sjich - proposals in the (Continued ori page 23)