Variety (Mar 1941)

^t^cdnewlay, March 5, 1941 Metro will not get any extra big nro-rata slice ol Great Britain coin. Allocation 6l |12,?()6,000 of British revenue due American major copi- pariies in yearVending next Oct. 31 ^11 t>e on a gross billings arrangiSr ment.vwith: the seven- other majors (Paramount, Warner Bros,, RKO, 2dth-Fox, Columbia, Universali UA) , getting the same break on dlvidihg ' tib the money as in the. firsi frozen - coin pact; . That was the deicision of Arbitrator'Miltoh Handler; Golumbla U: professoi: and attorney. He upi - held tlie contention of seven majors for gross billings and tossed out laetrp's plea for a remittancia . basis, ■ predicated oh .curreht ;' net . grpsisi rather than on the; three-year aver^ ' age formula used last year. . ' : .Handler's ruling teally only sus- tained the old method Used' in the 12-month perlbd fencUing last October. Understood that uiider. the igrbss bilK .. ln|s arrangement,, set by the. arbl- . tratibn which Metro had asked, aibout $2,580,000 would go to Metro Instead of close to $4,000,000 sought. In. both Instances, the exact flhal total is der pendfent, under the provisions of the . new British coin pact, on the ability of the eight majors to eatn $25,800,- '000 In the period ending next Oc- tober since , the agreement with the British government, calls for re- mittance of half this amount. - : 'Gone' Swelled M-G Take Heavy revenues from playdates in key cities ' of the British Isles on •Gone With the Wind' naturally has iwollen the total reveniie collected by Metro in the period ending last ' October, which would have boosted the company's slice of the total had the remittance basis been employed. This is reported as the .big stumbling point in arguments before: the arbi- trator. Esflm'&ted this week that V Metro, would have in excess of $8,000,- OOp.QOO In frozen funds tied up in the ■ British Isles by the end of next Au- gust, close of Loew's (Metro) ilscal year: . Different majors; have been dividing iip remittances from Great Britain on the temporary basis, which, is the ■ one agreed upon by the arbitrator. At the end of the first six months (May 1), the company with 18% . al- location, thus might have the per- centage moved up to 20% if it was found that total billing:! wer;e run- ning higher, than' originally antici- pated. And at the erid of the 12- month period, if billings continued to run I higher, an adjustment for the final six months \yould be ihade to shift the percentage, possibly to 21%. Money as it comes from London is being split up among the difTerent . companies, with any adjuistments be- ing made among the companies themselves at the end of the three designated periods. New frozen coin agreement reads ^ that 75% of . the total may be re- ceived by Ajrnerican companies from London in the first six . months, with the remairiing 25% to be taken out Ii the final six months.. This further : Is split jp, with the U. S. distributors allowed to receive 371^^% in the first .13 weeks; and . the other 37%% b6- . , fore the start of the final six months. This means that the eight majors will be allowed to remit $9,675,000 by May 1, if the aniount, is earned. V V U Stokck Pickups ,Washihgtort,March;4. Year-end purchases of .Universal Corp. voting tr.ust: certificates by , Preston; Davie and, Peyton Gibson . were revealed last Week by the Se- curUies & Excharige Commission. 'our batches, Diavle acquired 400- certiflcates last December, irals- ing his poke: to 3,000, while Gibsbh picked, up another lOCT, making liis total • holdings 1,400. In addition, both have a stake Ih Standsird Capi- tal Cd.'s 26,500 v;t.c.'s and 111,283 warrants. Wm it Work Out? Edward Srnail is apparently bphsiderliig .extehsion of: a new plan, for cheaper fllmia right into tho. title of ei future' production; He registered the label last week: 'An Experlmer* in EcOn- •omy.';;' . . Sanie tag wa» registereid by. ZOth'-Fpx in 1938 but nothing has ::come of-:lt. Milwaukee, March 4. '. Laviryers who at hrst frowned upon thie arbitratibn' method of settling disputes in the motion picture in- dustry; believing. failiure to take cases into the courts would deprive them of feies, are now changing their • minds . as they become more familiar, with the Mvr procedure. Their services are still required. in handling these cases and clients are willing to pay the same fees to settle disputes more promptly by the ar- bitration plan Vk'ithout the red tape and frequent delays of custpriary court actibns. : Also, quicker settlements,. accord- ing to the barristers, will ihean. quicker money for them—they hope. RKO WANTS TO REHRE ADDITIONAL KAO STOCK Vp a Few; R^U ■ ^ :tlollywood, Mairch 4. . >;"arles . Roberts, former -writer and shotts director at RKO, has en Upped to a full-fledged feature pilot ift 'Hutiry, Charlie, Hurry.' P^ays the name role ana Howard Benedict Droduces; With Atlas Corp. (Floyd B. C)dluDri) expected to pick up. additional Mike Meehan shares of Keith-Albee- Orpheum preferred before the option expires at the end of this month, RKO officials are reported cbnsider- ing some plan whereby the parent company can buy this stock and . re- tire It into the company treasury. RKO wanted to purchase the shares originally direct from ivieehan and associates but the arrangement out-: lined was not approved by the RKO directorate. In the meantime, Atlas made a deal for approximately 9,000 shares' "shortly before the. end of December with an option for addi- tional number of the 26,000 total, said option expiring In March. Taking in' of the Meehan-KAp shares is part of previously. an- nounced plan of RKO to simplify, its corporate structure, ai. the same time reducing its atinual dividend pay- ments on this stock. After the last $1.75 diyiden'd of KAO declared in January and payable April .1, there still win .bie $17.50 due on butstand- ihg preferred. Possession , of. the Meehan' shares naturally repi:esents a valuable investment but a reiui*- ring headache to RKO , as long as' most of the shades are outstahdlrig , Now, looks-like auditors will not be throuah with RKO books: before the middle of this m'bnth, with the annual report of CQmt)any earnings for 1940 likely , tb be announced at the diried.tots' meeting early in April. It will be the initial full year's finaH- cial statehieht since the corppratibn emerged; from 77-Bi ,>'ith a small profit indicated since, substantial earnings^ are expected both . from, the, theatre -subsids and the film operating company. HoW Near I* TKat?^^^ Hbliywood, March 4.- ■ Charles • Laughtbh, Who recently, emerged fromi; the! hospital after, a minor operation^ jjlays the top role In 'Almost An Angel/ starting March 17 at Universal. ' , Henry koster directs;frorti a script, written \by himself andl;' Norman Krasna^:'.:. Ousted SAG Coiiiici! M^ni- iieri Ask Arnoif) lif Their Status Noit Cover e d By Kulihg Similar td^ ASCAP^ ; Thit It Must 3e Governed Bjr FulVMemberahip RESUME CALLS PARLEVS • : Hollywood, March 4. ■ : Hollywood's 6,500 film extras have appealed tb .the Gcivernment iEor. aid in :f6icing the Screen Actors Guild to give them a voice in.: affairsv of thei 'union >Vhich controls all actor jobs in the motlbri picture industry. In a letter to Thurman Arnold, as- sistant U, S. attorney-general, mem- bers of the oust€id SAG Council ask if the election of Guild officers by "the 1,200 top players, does hot fall within , the same category as the American iSociety qi Composers, Au- thors and .Publishers, which has been . ordered to give the entire: membership a vote in elections. ■ The . Council, which was headed by Harry Mayo, contends that the' officers are now selected .by a small group. of stars,' many, of whom It is claimed share in production earn- ings making them an employer within the meaning .of the Wagner Relations Act. The coinmunication to Arnold stated the atinosphere players, through payment of dues, and initiation-fees, contribute most of the upkeep of the SAG, but yet are deniied any vbice in selection of personnel, policies or wage agree- ifientS. "They clSim th'S works to the detriment. or this extra player and to the advantage of the pro- ducing companies. The extras' are anxipuis to have their affairs made a part of the grand jury investigation which has been ordered by the Dept. of Jus- tice into the efforts/of James C. Pe- trillo to force; all instrumentalists ^to join the American Federation of Musicians. They contend their situ- ation is even more, distressing than that of the concert artists, whp.even if forced to .leave the American Guild of .'Musical Artists aiid affill- "ate with the AFM wpul.d- be given a voice ih the affairs of the latter organization. Forrester's Move . Another indirect attack on the. SAG. is being made by Mel For- rester, extra and former director ih^ silent pictures. Forrester has filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board charging the major companiies and employees of Cen- tral Casting Corp. with unfair labor practices in discriminating against certain players in the distribution of jobs. Negotiations between the. Pro- ducers and: the SAG was resumed today. At the: last: se.ssiph the two groups speiit several hours discuss- ing a- proposal to abolish the $8.25 and $11 classiflcatibhs and replace them, with a $10 call. it-,also was proposed-tp confine, the $S-5d classi- fications to calls-f or'50: br niibre exr tras with ho: wardrobe speciflcations. A definite dedsioh on the; proposals probably)will be reached this week. In the ■itieantime,. the Producer- SAG Standing Cornmillee has been asked to rush i^ work of eliminating . ,(Cohlinued ph page- 60,) 'Extras Can Withdraw' ■ , , Hollywobd/March 4. ' Kenneth "Thornson, exec;: secretary bf SAG. .said Monday night OT: Any time the extras feel they would prefer to, represent, themselves in their own' brgahizatibn .they have the power, to-.withdraw from the Guild."'; : Bert Allepberg.was naihed.'tp h^ad ; the special Artists ..Managers Guild' committee to consider ; proposed j franchise agreement from Screen;. Writers Guild. Covenant ' psit- terned after the actor-agent arrange^ ment,. but calls for appointment b£ a negotiator to secure bids; on all stpry material before a stUdio. sale. of Industry Gross mMMm Stiidio Workers Ay^rajgre $44 06 Weekly in Ja^ , - Hollywood, March ,4. Motion picture worknien, exclusive of ipxe^utives and contract ' talent, coUectjed a .weekly payroll- of $539,- 645 during, the month of jahuarjr, a drog of $3,095 from the weekly Sti- pends for December, 1940. California Labor Statistics bulletin discloses 12,247 workers drawing an .average of $44.06 per week for. Jan- uary.- HAVEIT Milwaukee,. March 4, Operators,, of the Oriental and Tower (Apnenberg hoiises) are now convinced beyond all doubt as to the relative merits of dual and solo fea- tures. They made Monday night: solo^ night at the Oriental, playing an A feature and selected shorts. They played the same feature at the Tower at the same time,' plus a B. feature, and the ratio of return was 3% to 1 in favor of duals. Business in the solo house dropped 60%. Both houses are de. luxe key nabes of equal sttindlng In their re- spective districts. L B. MAYER'S $(97,049 FROM tOEW'S IN 1940 Loew's, Inc. (Metro), paid LoUlis B.. Mayer,: production chief, $697,049 In salary arid bbnUses during the fiscal year .ending Aug' 31 last, an- nual report to iSecurities aiid 'Ex- change Commission, released yester- day (Tuiesday), showed. Of this total, $541,04i9 represented :a share in the company profits. Mayer received $688,369.In previous 12 months. Next highest paid by the company was Nicholas M. Schenck, president, who received ; $318,881, and Hunt Stromberg.: production .supervisor, $332,267. SEC report revealed that Loew's pald $16,104,000 Jn salaries and bonuses to . .228 ex.ecUtives, in the company's last fiscal year., ,Bonuses paid top official,s included J:.. Robert Rubin. $128,070;: David Bern'steih, $lli).^29; ,E. J. Mahhlx and Sam Katz, $96,356 , apiece.' Report of Universal on its . princi- pal player."! for the company's flsc.-'i year ended last Oct. 31.showed W. C. Fields topped the-list with $255,000. Other leaders oh IJ's. salary list were Deanna Durbin, With $209,833, and Bing Crosby. $150,000, SelznicVs Italian Film Coin to British Relief David O; Selznick : yesterday (Tuesday) turned over tb tlie British: War Relief the $25,(550 check he r"e^ ceived from Italy for rights to dis- tribute 'Rebecca' and 'Intermezzo' in that country. . ':.- In the deal, which was closed last week with an .Italian syndicate, Selz- nick deijrianded payment be made in American dollars in: New Yoric.' Gpin was paid yesterday and immediately tiirned over to Winthrop W; Aldrich, prez of the Briti-sh War .Relief .So- ciety,; wlio said it will be Used to buy small boats fitted Up as ambu- lances to rescue victims of Axis sub- marines;^' Washington, March A. Producers were much better off but exhibitors took it on the chin, with the result that the film • indus- try, as 8: Whole had only a .slightly better year-rfrom an earning stand- point--in 1938 than It did in'.1937. Statistical history made available this week by the Internal Revienue Bureau indicatels tiiere was consid- erable haphazard redistribution of, wealth; with the result that the over- all profit of both .branches was up not quite $2,000,000 in comparison with, 1937. ::^ .••,.:; For the benefit of researchers and trend-folloiwers, the Treasury .unit made 'public detailed figures from the corporation, returns for the cal- endar year 1938 (submitted in li939) ;whlch showed a'gratifying $115,623.- 000 jump In the aggregate take of the entire Industry.. , BUt due to higher taxes, increased opetatirig costs, arid a material rise- in the- number of firms ih both production , and exhibition winding up the year with red-ink totals in their ledgers, the absolute profit figure on tliis greater volume of business was a mere $1,852,000. Prodnction Up The production branch showed marked expansion in 1938 and i general had a far happier time than during the preceding year. There Were 85 more firms reporting a profit, while: the number of successful ex- hibitors slui}iped by 221. At the same time, 17iB more producers ha(f no. net iricoine to report, against 206 more exhibs. , Comparative figures for both briahches, including the corporations which wound up In the hole as well as those, showing a favorable bal- ance at the end of the year, were: Total gross Income for 1938, $933,-, 941,000; for 1937, $818,318,000; in- crease, $119,623,000. Net Income of those making a profit for 1938, $67,05k,000: for 1937, 66,984,000; Increase, $75,000. Accumulated, deficit for those i-uh- ning in the red for 1938, $15,336,000; for 1937, $17,113,000; decrease, $1,777,- 000. Over-all^ industry net income (winners' 'total minus losers') for 1938. $51,723,000; for: 1937, $49,871,000; increase, $1,852,0Q0. All of the improvement came In . the production end. The 146 pro- ducing firms with net income in 1938 compiled a gross of $262,656,000, which was up $150,053,000, while those running In the red snared $107,401,000, a drop of $8,443,000. Meaning that the take for the en- tire production wing was $370,057,- 000, or $130,610,000 more than in 1937. "The net income for the suc- cessful producers mounted by $10,- 366,000 over 1937 levels,- touching $24,2.30.000; And . among the losing concerns, the aggregate /deflicit was $6,738,000, a drop of $3,989,000, even though the number : runriifig iti the red more than doubled.:; N.S.G. for Exhibs Situation was far less pleasing for exhibitors, The combined gross for the: corporation with and without profit , was '$503,884,000, or a drop of $14.987,000.. . Even the theatre com- panies which came out of 1938 on top, were, not as well off as in the prior; year, for their net of $42,829;- 000 v/as ; down, $10,291,000.; Those With an unfavorable balance, went in the hole for: $8,598,000, a rise of $2,212,006. One reason why the indastry ; wa.sn't ' entitled to feel specially happy when the books were audited liei in the .comparative tax payment totals. • Although the old surplus profits tax had been era.sed, the slice of the Income :which went to Unclt , Sam jumped $343,000. Amounts, handed over to - the. Treasury were $2,935,000 (up. $1,398,000) by pro- ducers and ,$6,481,000 (down $1,053,- 000) by exhibitors. The normal cor- porate income tax levies were ,up $1,854,000, with producers kicking In $2,929,000 and exhibitors $6,438,000.