Variety (Dec 1940)

PICTURES Wednesdajr, Decpmber 4, 19.10 .; just, wh^t the 3.1% tilt:ih the>prr ihal Federal lax rate, and excess profits; taxatibn;.: passed by; - Congress , a short time ago, means to /t)icture \cotn0ahies and riadio corpo-' .ratioris is iTeyealed in recent three- quarter reports. Several cprnpanie? haive come dpwri the stretch with a fairly -decent pirofit. until pvi^rtakeh. Vy . the new -tax bite. . Thiis has in- , variable' put' deeply : into' 'the-. net profit shown. ., The ihcireiased inconie;; tax:^ j;at?s :,plus thW excess profits tax Cqrigihal-. ly intended: to . apply only tp; cpm- ipanies benefttihg from hational de- f enseVorderis), is prbving a bitter dose to /take tor most film corppra^^ because foreign.business^is off badlyi Film companies have been forcfed to ■wi-ite.. off special amortization r ■erves or drastically alter their anaor- tization tables because of foreign .losses; . Jiyst how hard pictui-e corpbratiphs are hit iby. the hew taxation was' BhoWh by; Parampurit's Report for the: third quarter!Earnings', total(ed 944.000 .aftier 'all /charges and ipcpme , tix^ but . before' retrbactive' adjust^ iii^nt based oh the -increiased incprhe tax, rates and cixcess • pirpflts taxes.; This called for an additioniar writer off of $2liB;O0d, leaving: $1,726,000 net - liroftt for the quarter. If Par earn-^ irigs average ;$I,5dO,006 per quarter, the new taxes figiire to trim; around |800;00b: from the net fpr the ptesent ■'■year.' ■. ■ ^ . : : RkO showed; $li865,l42 netsearn- irigs, but . wotirid lip with only $317,-, 186 riiet profltL for thie- first three quarters th:;^ year after : deducting. $1,328,374 for Federal faxes and de- priBciatipn. ;'^ ■. ^ - ■ :;;CB;S- -Breakdowii' ^Columbia broadcasting brpke down; its financial statement for the first three quart^frs tio: show $168,650 / was. deducted because " of the", 3.1 % increase in the normal,:in(come tax rate :and . $467,237 deducted because of. the excess- prPfits- tax.,. Where $791 ;354 was deducted, ,for Federal 'Income taxes last year ■.for the same periPd, CBS deductied $961,818 more this year or $1,'/53,172. ; Radio Corpi. of Anierica slashed, off $2,(Jl9f,000 fPr Federal hPrnial incpme taxK ih the;first three quarters this .\^ear, as compared with $881,300 in the first nine jnoriths of 1939. ;- . . B. Fv Keith eairhihgs for - the. first 89 weeks this year were nearly $280,- 000 lower than frt 1939, but the com- pany set aside $66,835 ; as provisipn for income taxes this year,;as against' $33,960 in the preceding yeair. Keith- AlbeeTbrpheuiri report showed simi- lar .resuits, provisipn for "income taxes .increasing about $25,000, al- though earnings, before charges, were $400,000 belpW 1939. : Although 20th-Fox showed an op- >rating loss pf $1,035,111'before all charges were deducted, the company ■ Bllpwed $40,500 for Federal income taxes. Cprripany took; care of amor' . tization changes and foreign losses . by .deducting $2,206,000 outright as • Bpecial provisipn for foreign /assets , Jn its 39-wieek report. -It was; plaihed that the purpose of this . de- duction, (sincie; the inclusion of .this flgute . in; current earnings wpuld^^ have eiyeh the company, a pripfit of . iarbtind, $i!000.000) is to exclude from ; ourreht. profits; those earned during ; the period in, currencies . be- calise not realizable in y;. dollars, • and' cphsequently net availiable for ■ tise: in cpmpariy operations Ih; this ■ ■■.country,. -.. - ;'•■'' ;• '■■.■■ ■'■■.;.'■"•.■-- Warner Bros; statement fpr fiscal year; ended Au^; 31 showed $838,d00 ;iaid; but for Federal income itaxes as , ; compared . with ,$687,000. in previbus Jfear. ;iH|6wever,f new .iilfed regular hcPme arid d^ferise;-taxes;db not ap- ply;' on; iri'cbme. in. 12-mprith period J usi erid^d beca.use. fiscal, year begati In; 193.?.; Warners; aisb shifted ampr-; . tizatJPn; ;bf fii^^^^ cpsts so.- that this ;iiQw js|. pn :a :basis of 8Q,%-f!pj do-.; inestic. ihcbme and; 20% fpr foreign . Jncpmie. ;Cpmpa7iy had; changed from 70-30% ratio tp' 75-25% In jpre- ;;vipus fiscal.yiBar. ; Estimated that .ap- plicatipn of new 80-20%; ratio rt- . Bulted iii $727,724 additional amprti- tatioii ' charges: for • reciently coni-. plete.d company year,,- €'s System Unlvetsars las^ flnanclal statemeiit, eoverini the first three quarters of the compahy^s fiscal year, came bie- fore the Second ReVentie Act was fMssed; Cdnsequehtiy^ earnings do (Cbntnued On page ' 59) Frankenftteiiied , r;H611ywo.bd, Dec. 3. ^ One of the town's tpjp .pro-; diicers recently. pfTered. the sug^ g'estipn that . studio; publicity heads band, tpgether . to pass: on • ihaterial spoutesd pri ;the radio and at dinners by spokesmen for the industry. i/Iain idea was, to, censor copy- that. rnight put the film biz . iri;.; bad;: light ;through wrong, utterance, pr interpireta-^; tiori thereof ■'. ',.. . His thought was not only, carried outj but he was the-.first tp ifeel; the sting of committee's first der cision. The; head flacki; ruled him off the air as not the one to speak for thijndustry in a ; cent; charity, drivie. 'And it 'stuck.' . ■•'■. ' ■ '.;■;:;;; - Sa^rrymof e pn^ L^^ Jlgairt> Keeps Pre^ ,v. y' Hollywood, Dec. 3. John.BarTyrnbre, the;Ancieht Mar- iner.; of'Matrimonial Seas; ; is ashor;^ again, ready to ..shove off bn ;iain6ther cruise if he can find: a; perfect .woman as ;a .Shipmate. . The skipper ..Was beached, in Superior Coiirt after a stormy ttpUr with. Elaine Barri.e; Bar- rymore, who was granted a diyorce arid .plenty of salvage,; which: is com- plicated - by: various tides and edd.ies iri thte bankruptcy court. ;; ; There -vvas no traigedy iri the wreck of thei .latest Barrympre rpmaricle.; It Ipoked rnore like ;ai happy .ending. bn the final night when the lovelorn husband sat; at a front table in, ilarl Carrpirs and. exposed his great pro- file to the glances'pt .the; glamour girls,-even cjiriibirig on the stage arid daring Ciipid to shoot, him at. close rarige.^ / Ever; since the parting of Calibian and Ariel- it has been a field^'day for newspaper rieporters arid ; camera- incn,. Caliban has becorive; the rirjost accpmriiodatirig interviewee in thie history of .Hollywood publicity. Hiis inbtto,is 'anything for a ;laugh.' ALBERT J. COHEN MADE PRODUCER AT REPUBUC Hollywood, Dec; 8. '. Republic upped Albert J. Cohen, story chief, to a producer berth to fill the vacancy Iplt by Sol C. Siegel, who shifted to a production post at Paraniount. Maurice Hanline, Cohen's aide, moves up as story head. . Cohen played a double-header re- cently by producing 'Who Killed Aunt Maggie?' while filling his story Job. On his schedule urider the new arrangement are . three features, 'Puddin' Head,' 'Babes on Broadway* and 'Alibi at Midnight.' - 'Two Bad Angels' is the first pic- ture to be produced by Siegel uri- der; his new' contract with F'ar. Film is based :pri a story by William A. trllman; Jr., and Arthur Landau. Ostrowat20th By BILL lIALLIGAlt Hollywood, t)ec. 3. Fuririy thing about war neWs, It's \ the little thirigs that, riiake the big- i gest . impre.ssibri. Last night. I read that lemons;were'sellirig lor; a shill- irig apiece in. London. As I write these lines a huge lemon tree throws its shadow, across the portable and if any one has ever picked a lemon off of it, it's news to me; Plenty of fruit layirig on the • ground, /otting. : There is a lot of talent put here in the same.; predicament. Wrilei s, ■actoris; directors and kids trying to bust into the riiost fascinating racket in; the world. It all seems tp be ter-^ ribly mixed up. Reminds me of a crack Nick Dandolas made. Nick says 'AH the gamblers think I'm a sucker and all the; suckers think I'm a gariibler.' That's riie.. Ail the writers think I'ni an actor and all the: actors think I'm a writer. Archie Mayo says i'rri neither; ■ • ' .;-;'..'■ We were all sitting around the Derby: bar the other evening. Wil- liam Harrison Dempsey, the chariip, was playing a one-night stand *t: 1.he American. Legion iand the , place looked like old home week. Demp- sey was' the host and Arline Judge was standing in as ;the hostess. Jack .said the first time his paw caririie: to New York, was just beifore thie Firpp fight. The old man got off a train frpm Utah and, looked like 'a. prps- pective purchaser of; the Brooklyn Bridge. Some wise guy saw him in the depot and cracked, 'Hiellb Si.' arid the old man said, 'I knew Harry woiild :send some one down to; meet riie.* That was what Dempsey's paw called him,; Harry^ short for Harri- son. , ./ .■•'.; ■ V The chairip tpld aKout the time he and Kearns bought the Barbara hote' in downtown Los Angeles. Kearns wanted, the press to think th,e open- ing was plenty important so he wrote Pn thie register Dpuglas Fairbanks. Mary Pickfprd, ; Gloria Swanson. Rudolph Valentino. He put Rudy arid Gloria in the. same. room. A sharp-eyed reporter spotted the nirries and topk his .photographer up^ stairs. and kriocked on the door. .A gal in a silk kimbna answered. In the background was a dark-haired yburig . man drinking a; highball. Bang, went the flashlight. ■ There were; a; lot of explanations after -and Jack said it cost a few:grand tp. hush it up. . Kearns laughed it. off as a good .joke. Sid Grauman came in and ordered his customary,drink, a stelh pf niilk. Sid told of the time he went to Chi- cago to see Deriipsey fight Turiney. He had a suite at a hlg downtown hotel. Two hoodlums busted in and tied him up and; gagged him. Sid thought it was Joe Schenck's idea of a Joke and'refused to be frightened. "The gangsters, couldn't understand why Grauman wasn't Impressed and left disgusted. They took all of Sid's Charvet tie's though and; Sid never did get them back.; . ; : Joe Berijarimin sat in arid told about , the trip he and Dempsey took to Europe back in 1923. Jack had never tasted caviar and when the waiter put a large glass bowl packed with Beluga ori the table Dempsey finished it in no time and ducked ,out leaving Benjamin with a $90 chieck. Joe paid but practiced up pn his foot work from then on. Dempsey is a great guy and;still as, nervous as ever. He can't sit still a minute and is always giving sorrie one the hot foot. He says he Is coming back to L. A: some day to liv^e. He 'will be a welcoriie addition oiit here; ' Hollywood, Dec. 3. .- Lou Ostrow checked In at 20th- Fpx Mpnday for a producer berth. He recently completed Vogiie's 'Li'l Abrier' for RKO release and previously wias at Metro for ight years. Po\»rer Signed Off , ;. Hollywood, Dec. 3. Tyrone P-ower was withdrawn from the cast of "The Great Ameri- can Brpadcast' and shifted to 'BJobd and Sand,' which rolls Jan. 16 at 20th-Fox. , •■ ■; ^ Rouben Mamoujian directs Po\ r Iri th^ old Valentino starrer. product tieup .......;.:.....,v.....";.;.,.-...Page 13 Argentine films.............; i............;.......,.. ..Page 13 New Zealand, conscripts U. S. fllnj revehue.;.:;..;. i.;....... page 13 Holly wood lawyer enters FCC probe:....... .... .....;.;;., page 30 ASCAP ..;...; Page 34 Television ...... .,;'... ........;. . ....;;.. i..........Page 37 Radio Reviews: Fred Allen, Tom Harmon, Miriam Hopklns- : Charles Bbyer.;*.. . . . .Vi. ; . :.,;...,.......... .Page 41 Abeles barters with BMI.;.........; ..,................ .Page 45 Broadway Sunday legit.........................., ...>........Page 55. ewsre Khaki Huddling Hollywood, Deb. 3. ■ Murray Silverstorie, op'eratirig ; head bf . United Artists, ; arid Henry Henigson, gericral man- ager of Globe Productions, spent. a ; day in San Diego huddling With james .Roosev^^^ Crlpbe;. president, nbw doing Marine duty; about the develppment 'of ■ the company's picture, . 'Pot ■ '' Goid.' ;■; :• .-^.y. ' \r:: Silverstone and James. Mul- vey, represeritative of Sam. Gpld- wyri on the UA board,, trained later for New York, Fibn Cowboys, Yodelers to Air Four-Hour Show For BriHsh War KM^ ;;, Hollywood, Dec. 3. / This sector will go sagebrusher in a big waX/Saturday night, Dec! 14, when; cowijoy . and hillbilly .'thesps unite in a jamboree to raise coin for Britain^s child victims of. Nazi boirib- ing raids and. at the same time, pro- vide' an evening's eritertainriient for the yoiing war sufferers. Affair will be bro4»dcast around the. world via livC; and transcribed programs. Back pf the move i.s the Cowboy Association for British War Chil- dren's Relief, which is headed by Ben Roscoe, manager of Roy Rogers, and which has the endorsement of the British Ambassadpr to Washington. The show, W|hich will originate frorri a Republic studib stage -with more than 200 riding actors and Ozark eriter.tainers participating, ;gpes but. as a live broadcast over KFWB and the Canadiari Broadcasting Systerii. Because it does; not get under way until IB p.m.; (PST), coritinuing uritil midnight,; the' U. S., outside of the Coast :arca, wilj be covered follow- ing day^y discsT^hich will also be used for a rebroadcast Sunday to the British Lsles, ''South America, AUs-: tralia and South Africa. Rogers, Gene Autry, Tex Hitter, Jack and Tim Holt, Buck Jones, Bill Boyd and a dozen other top sage- brusher names will lead bevies of screen beauties in 'holdups' of Holly- wood and . Los Angeles niteries, which will be cut In pn the radib prograrii. '. ';. M-6 P.A. MINIMIZES GALLUP POLL ON B.O. Boston, Dec. 8. Art Schmidt,;; Metro publicity manager, in a talk to the Adver- tising Club of Boston declaries that the. Gallup poll on film house at- tendance had been 'carelessly and Inaccurately interpreted.' This mis- interpretation has caused uridue con-; cern in the trade and in the public mind, he said. :'An advertising publication re- cently attributed the supposed drop in average iweekly atteridance from 80,000,000 tp 55,000,000 to the charac- ter of motion picture advertising. Actually, there Is no basis for com- parison of these two figures. The Gallup figure never pretended to be average attendance. ; It Was a one week report on a specific week Iri July. Based on season, one; variation iri business and; pictures available at that time, this figure is approxi- mately what the industry Would ex- pect The accuracy of the Gallup survey is hot questioned, but In the light of tlie business,variation these figures would Indicate an average weekly attendance pVer; the year of approximately the sanie as 1930— and quite possibly in excess." . Ted Curtis Gets YearV leaye for Air Duties >' . Hollywood., Dec. 3. Ted Curtis left foi- Washington on a year's leave pf absence from his post as vice-president ol Eastmari Kodak Co., riiotion picture division, to report for duty In the U. S. Army air service. During the first World War he was a major in the flying corps.' .-.: ■ :•■ ' ;:■ : plans call for an advisory capacity in Washington. ; Despite repeated air-raids by Nazf bombers, picture shows are cohtinu, ing operations, though with greatly diminished attendance in London and in most of England, according to David Rose, Paramount's'iriahag- ing director In Great Britain, Rose arrived; in N.Y, Friday (29) after- noon by ; boat which tpok 10 days ih> Grpssing. U..^.is .:his . annua visit to the; home office, He planed but to the Coast last night (Tuesday) to spend the Tiolidays with his family which he transferred from ^Londoh when the German blitz started ' earnest. \,vr' ■ ; Although 200 cinemas are v shut- tered in the London, area, there aire; around 1,600 still operating in Greater London, he said. Also nuriiber have been blosed iri ^citi ; along the channel coast. The Lon- don area has been badly hit recently, resulting :in revenue dropping down to 20-25% of normal there. Black- out now goes into effect around .5 p.m., with few people going to the fllni houses after 5:30 although they remain open until 9: o'clock. Be- cause part of the business; dec] i ne in London has been overcome by an Improvement iri the Provinces. Rose said: recent: Paraniount revenue in England was running 10% ahead of last year (more than half of this is frozen in Great; Britairi under gov- ernment regulations). ; Virtually all legit theatres .are closed, two still open now giving afternoon performances only. -Res-: taurarits and cafes are packed, nightly .becau.se nearly all have Un- derground rooms; as protection against night raids. : Govt. Gets the Bomb Bills Typical of how the British are carrying pn was his. statement that the ABC and Odepn circuits: are .run- ning, rieariy all their theatres with only Gaumbnt-British closing down a number. The Astoria, Paramount house at BriSctori; sUfrered: aboiit $6,000 damage when hit by a bomb, but a bill for. damages; ah-bady has gone Iri to the government. The British goverriment promises.to foot the bill on damages done :by bomb- ers,' Rose explairied. ' P^^^ owns it^ own exchange , properties and several theatres though : seven presently arefpperated by Odeon cir- cuit J.-. • ... President Roosevelt (appearing in the riewsreeis) is the greatest Ameri- can star on England's screen today. Rose pointed . out. Chief executive- is loudly applauded;and cheered on every appeararice. The manner In which attendance has held up at the pibturie theatres Is astounding, he explained^ saying .that the morale of the British peo- ple is terrific. In *is mind, he said, there is no chance of the British los- ing. Citing how the calm of the populace dispelled fears of bombing attacks. Rose said he had never been in an. air-raid shelter, during the year he's been serving Par in Great: Britain. •■'' ■; ::■;■ Picturie shows continue despite the air raids. The intensified attack on Loridori hurt at one time but in the cities and smaller spots outside: the greater iretropolltan opera- tions are close to normal despite acr tual attacks ; or nearby raidis, arid blackouts. 'I visited a -town in Hampshire at night wheri you could hear the dis- tant roar of antLraircraft. guns arid bomb blasts. '.Despite the complete blackout, I found the; theatre which I attended packed. In other com- munities outside. London I learned that they still go to picture shows despite air raids.* He explained that the persoririel pf. ParriipUnt on the British^Isles is still active. Few . have been called , to the cplors and there have been no casualties. The company started, to decentralize at the. war's outset, biit shortly thereafter moved back to London, with only the accounting, sales and bookkeeping divisions kept in the suburb ■ after the ;Nazi - bi itz started. ParamouiiT iriaintains of- fices in Wardour Street, London, de- spite all air attacks. . : Morale Cdntinue.i Grand Indicative of the calmness; which;, prevails in LbndOn presently, Hose; said he was reading a newspaper at Claridges—about 9:30 p.m. one night when . a bomb landed outside. It smashed the glass windows but no- body, even stopped dining or left,the spot. On another night he remained at the Savoy hotel rather than gp to an air-raid shelter. A bomb struck the second floor killing the other two (Continued on page 20)' 'V..;-