Variety (Oct 1942)

Wednesday, October 7, 1942 PICTURES Govt, s Growing Non-Theatrkal Prod. Draining Many Technicians Growth of the non-theatrical pic- ture market, as result of steadily In- oiea-sing activity in various Govern- m.nt departments ■ which are devel- oping large fllm production units, is viewed in the trade as likely to be- come the fllm industry's most seri- ous opposition before the war is over. Agricultural, educational, en- gineering and other Government bureaus, in addition to military de- partments, are organizing extensive fllm production units and are out to corral as much of Hollywood's trained personnel as can be found. Inroads oiV technical equipment and celluloid will, of course, also be felt by regular producers. The non-theatrical field in the U. S. lias until now scarcely been touched, in contrast to the rapid strides already made In Canada and in England. North of the border a non-theatrical, audience of more than 1.250,000 is already being tapped with indications tha it will Increase to the full potential of 2,- 600,000 before long. Government officials in Britain and Canada, charged with the non- theatrical a.ssignmcnt, do not con- sider this field as opposition to reg- ular entertainment theatres. They point out that normal theatre at- tendance ha.<! increased in both coun- tries despite the informative and other pictures made under Govern- ment supervision and shown free of charge. These sources declare that pictures for the non-theatrical mar- ket are regarded purely as a cor- rollary to commercial picture houses . fnd serve to increase interest in the cinema. At the same time it is as- ■ lerted that there is a strong demand for GoverniYient pictures, dealing with the various phases of the war in realistic fashion, among all civil- ians, defense plant workers and sol- diers. One authority describes this Remand as 'a hunger for inside in- formation on wha.'s happening.' The non-theatrical field in the y. S.. surface of which has been barely scratched., in the opinion of British and Canadian government fllm officials, promises to become on. of the most important adjuncts of Government and education with i potential audience of 40,000.000 in the U. S. Though the.-ie officials are inclined to minimize the competitive nature M the non-theatrical showings, in- dustry reps in the U. S. fear inroads on patronage due to this develop- ment and are particularly concerned about the increasing scarcity of tech- nicians, material and equipment which would result from large-scale Government fllm production. SAM GOLDWYN UKELY TO RETURN TO UA FOLD Sam Goldwyn is considering return to the United Artists fold upon com- pletion of his current releasing pact with RKO, from accounts ending June, and has already begun nego- tiations for having Goldwyn's Brit- uh-made production, 'Spitfire,' sold via UA. Grad Sears, v.p. in charge Of distiibulion for UA, was on the Coast last week to screen 'Spitfire' and continue negotiations with Gold- wyn which were inaugurated In the •ast by James Mulvey. Goldwyn tried to obtain a UA re- tfase. iast season tor 'Pi idc-of .-the Vankees' and They Got Me Cov- ered, forthcoming Bob Hope-Dor- othy Lamour starrer, negotiations oonllnuuig even after it was gener- •ily as.sumed that the deal had been jet with RKO. UA turned the Gold- wyn deal down at the time be- cause unable to see its way clear distribution terms of i.u 'Spitfire' or any wn,!u Pf°''"<^'' '-egardless of source, tJir^ ? considerably higher, to hr,?;,'" °' 'P'-estige' product 10 bolster Its lagging studio output jast season, took the Goldwyn prod- ?erm,'""'"^.°" ^^"^ producer's own terms, includmg an optional releas- Inf!*'**' °P^'°" clau.'^e and the by^e^:::"'^*^^"' Goldwyn t^ex? *M.^^''"'"' 'hen RKO cism^irn ".1''"='" vociferous criti- medi«..r directorate im- pariui ? Preceding Schaefer s de- Parluie from the company. UA b^r/"' owner-member of turn tn h ?°'"« ''KO- "nay re- Sgcont^rrtor.'^^''-*''''''^''''- Another Bill Fox Item Atlantic City, Oct. 9. Final clearance towards eventual payolT of 2 to 3% dividends to credi- tors of the bankruptcy estat. of William Fox, former film magnate, has been effected by the compromise agreement of the bill of a California theatre builder. The last claim in the six-year bankruptcy litigations was that of Harold L. Arnold, Inc., of Los An- geles, for $35,420 on alleged debts incurred by architects' fees and other expenses on an unflnished con- tract to erect a theatre for Fox in 1034. Allen B. Endicott, Jr., referee in bankruptcy, authorized acceptance of the compromise, entering th. cor- poration's claim at $10,000 and ex- punging any amount over that flgure. Pro-rata dividend payments will be made before the year's end, Referee Endicott announced. Gov t Disproves Talk of Aussie Picture Control Sydney, Oct. 6. There will be no nationalization of the Australian motion picture indus- try, a government spokesman has announced here. This is in reply to previous suggestions that one out of every three cinemas be closed for the duration. Prime Minister John Curtin also announced that the goV' ernment appreciated all that the in- dustry is doing to help the war ef- fort. Plan for shuttering a third of all Aussie picture theatres apparent ly has been shelved. Ernest Turnbull, Hoyt circuit chief, has placed key theatres of his chain at the disposal of the govern- ment for special preview presenta- tions from time to time, with ad- mission being by war bonds ranging in value from $40 to $20,000. Cooperation of biz leaders her. is viewed as wiping out any govern- mental interference. 12tli Pic for Weavers Hollywood, Oct. 6. 'Mountain Rhythm' makes It an even dozen pictures for the Weaver Bros. Sc Elviry, who started their 12th hillbilly effort yesterday (Mon.) at Republic, with Armand Schaeter producing and Frank McDonald di- recting. On completion of the picture the mountain folks are slated for vaude tour. BLOCK SELLING POUCY BY UA Initial proposal to shutter one- third of the Australian cinemas was viewed in N. Y. as the first step towards nationalization of the fllm business here. It was feared such governmental controls would subse- quently extend to other parts of the picture industry Down Under. ACADEMY BOARD WILL PICK NEW OFHCERS Hollywood, Oct. 9. Walter Wanger. president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, announced a new board of governors which will meet Oct. 14 to select Academy officers for the coming year. Board members and their affilia- tions are:' Aclois:--Etitt"ard Arnold. Donald Crisp and Charles Coburn. Writers: — Lamar Trolti. Charles Brackett and Mary McCall. Jr., Direc- tors:—E. J. Mannix, Y. Frank Free- man and Walt Uisney. Science branches:—Ray Wilkinson. Douglas Shearer and Farciot Edouart. Betty and Bob Snap To Salute for Par Hollywood. Oct. n. Robert Pre.<lon and Betty Rhodes draw top spot.'! in "Salute for Three.' to be directed by Ralph Murphy and produced by Walter MacEwen at Paramount. Picture, based on a canteen story, will be Pre.'ston's last before entering the Army. Block selling policy adopted by United Artists last week is regarded by company's field forces as a step whereby higher billings can be at- tained through quantity sales. UA, one of the non-consent decree dis- tribs, now enters the ranks of Uni- versal and Columbia in selling pro- cedure. It is conceded that the initial work in closing deals will be more diffi- cult than selling single pictures, as in the past, because of the greater volume of coin involved and the various percentage and flat rental deals to be worked out for UA's en- tire product output. CiTsetting this difficulty, however, is view that once the entire block is sold to an ac- count it becomes unnecessary for salesmen to return over the same route until next season's output is ready. UA execs flgure non-consent selling methods most suitable under current conditions. Apart from the profit question, block selling is also con- sidered most advantageous purely from the physical transportation angle. Announcing 16 features (in which three Harry Sherman specials are included), six Hopalong Cassidys. eight 'streamlined' Hal Roach pro- ductions and 12 shorts as the initial block to be offered, the UA releasing schedule is likely to be upped before the season winds up. Among productions not in the 16 features announced are Sol Lesser's 'Stage Door Canteen,' 'In Which We Serve,' Noel Coward British-made fllm: and James Cagney, Charles Chaplin, Jack Benny, Edward Small output. Likely that as -these latter productions materialize an indi- vidual selling policy wil be set for each film. In addition to the six westerns an- nounced, Sherman stated on the con- vention floor that he had two more scheduled—a total of eight westerns in addition to his three specials. RKO's 2nd Block-of-S Sticking to blocks-of-five, RKO will have a second group later this month following screenings to be held Oct. 12-14. Included In the sec- ond block, however, will b. 'Journey Into Fear,' which was tradeshown in August shortly after the RKO national convention. The other four to make up the package of flve will be 'Scattergood Survives a Murder,' 'Seven Days Leave.' 'The Falcon's Brother' and 'The Navy Comes Through.' Only one other decree company has not yet started to sell its second group of flve each, this being Par. Metro u; selling 12 as its Initial block, nothing beyond being sched- uled. Espionage Underfoot Hollywood. Oct. 6. 20th-Fox signed Robert Florey to direct 'French Underground.' spy tale of present day Paris. Andre Davan will produce, from a script now being written by George Kes.sel. HERSH SUBS VOTION ON LUM,ABNER PIC Hollywood. Oct. 6. Ben Her.'-h moved in as producer of ihe Lum 'n* Abner picture. 'Two Weeks to Live.' now in work for RKO in Culver City. Hersh is pinch-hitting for Jack Votion, original producer, who has moved to Washington, an a lieuten- ant in the Army Signal Corps. Draft SWG Met Proposed War Cmfew for Juves Would Meet Film B.O. in Detroit No Cheap Skate, This Hollywood, Oct. 6. Highest budget in the history of Monogram is allocated to 'Silver Skates,' flrst of the flve features get- ting the starting gun this month. Ice picture, in addition to Belita, Frick and Frack and other top skat- ing names, haj Kenny Baker as male lead. Four others on the October shoot- ing schedule are 'Beyond the Great Divide.' 'No Escape,' 'Silent Witness' and 'Storm Out of the West.' Hollywood, Oct. 6. Screen Writers Guild named George Seaton chairman of a com- mittee to nominate candidates for officers and board members at the annual election Nov. 12. Remainder of the committee con- >isis of Harold Buchman. Lester Cole. Olive Cooper. Morgan Cox. Howard Dimsdale. Harry Kurnil?:. Gladys Lehman, Frank Parlos and Ernest Pascal. WPB Ration Order Due Shortly; Old Print Salvaging Major fllm companies may soon be obliged to delve into their vaults and turn over for salvage their old prints. Such a step was recently taken in England when an urgent demand arose for cellulose, the vital element in explosives and one of the prin cipal ingredients of film stock. Much old film, of course, comes back to exchanges, after running through the distribution mill, in such bad shape that it has habitually been sold to fllm salvage firms. However, companies have saved many prints and vaults are well-filled with tons of stock that could be turned into cellulose again were it vitally neceS' sary. Most of the companies have arranged, since the war and threats of air raids, to store old fllm outside of New York City. A number of them have arranged for vault space in upstate New York. The British Ministry of Supply, in addition to asking distribs to 'search out all flims which are no longer deflnitely required and dispose of them to a processing firm,' requested that hypo solution from fixing tanks be saved for recovery of the silver content. Actual film rationing order, flxing celluloid availability from 10 to 24% lower than last year, has not yet been issued by the War Production Board, though expected any day. Announcement made in Washington last month on the priority rating and rationing, effective for three months ending Jan. 1 only, and then subject to revision, was in the na- ture of a directive and clarification of WP^ policy for the time being. Film companies have since been requested to furnish the WPB with a breakdown of the total celluloid consumption figures presented while the rationing order was under con- sideration. It is expected that the WPB will i.ssue-th^ rationing deci- sion in the form of an order once all the figures are in. METRO'S RAMIREZ FOR NELSON EDDY ROLES Carlo.s Ramirez, .^et by Wally Downey, in association with ,MCA, on a Metro film deal, reports to the Coast studio Jan. 1. The Latiji singer, chiefly known in New York nilerie.s 'he's currently at the Waldorf-Astoria) aiul in South America grand opera, is being primed as a successor to N'clion Eddy for romantic vocal lead<. Sam Wood's Indie Prod. For Columbia Release Hollywood, Oct. 6. Sam Wood has acquired film rights 10 the George S. Kaufman-Edna Ferber play. 'The Land Is Bright.' and will produce and direct it as the flrst of his planned series of inde- pendent productio:!.^. Picture is slated for work at Co- lumbia as soon as Wood completes his current job on 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' at Paramount. Detroit, Oct. 9. A wartime curfew here to curb reported juvenile delinquency is a new bugaboo for picture operators who have drawn largely from the young trade since the war and boom here started. Curfew agitation started in subur- ban Dearborn after charges were made that young girls were out until all hours of the night with sailors from the Naval Training School at the Ford plant. Suburban row flared up into a fight the press here could not ignore since one faction charged that the curfew was being ducked to whitewash the increasing juvenile delinquency in the town and the other faction arguing that the action was based on the delinquency of only a few girls. However, the Dearborn row flagged the attention of organiza- tions here, which had begun to be disturbed with the growing problems of youth in wartime, and agitation was started f<ff even more rigid reg- ulations. Contention of the blue-nose faction is that the youngsters have too much money and freedom— particularly with the large fiumber of women employed in the Detroit arsenals. With less home super- vision, they argue, Detroit should install an B p.m. curfew and extend it up to those 18 years old. Police women who supervise the theatres here don't fool and pre- viously have got tough with the houses on the present hours and age limits, including cracking down on the school skippers when stage bands come in. With an increase in the age limit and a lowering of the evening hour it would cut off a healthy source of picture revenue. COL PIX PROFIT BEST SINCE 1935. $1,611659 Columbia Pictures net earnings for the fiscal year ending last June 27 totaled $1,611,6S9, after all charges and Federal taxes, as compared with $552,743 in the previous year ending in June, 1941. Company's provision for Federal income, excess profits and capital stock taxes amounted to $1,103,617 in the 12-month fiscal period covered by the report. In the 1941 fiscal year, Columbia's Federal income and capital stock taxes totaled $145,420 plus a special charge of $84,157. Corporation's balance sheet reveals current assets of $15,150,000 and cur- rent liabilities of $1,990,000. Colum- bia working capital was listed as ap- proximately $13,160,000. Surprising feature of Columbia's annual earnings statement is the vast improvement in profit for the final quarter ending last June 27. The net earnings in this fourth quarter to- taled $669,709, or more than three times as much as in the third quar- ter, and more .than double the flnal quarter ir. the 1941 fiscal year. Parent company's shares of Brit- ish revenues are included in the consolidated profit-loss statement, though the entire amount may not be realized in U. S. dollars by the expiration of the present agreement with the English government at the end of this month Net effect of es- timated iinrealiztrd revenues--as-. af.._ Oct. 31. 1942. included in earnings, amounted to $160,000. COLUMBIA PICTURES EARNINGS 1930-42 Net profit, except as noted: (•) deficit. 1930 $1,295,958 1931 560,869 1932 574,292 1933 740,241 1934 1.008.834 1935 1.815.267 1936 1.568.816 1937 1.317,771 1938 183,393 19.39 2,047 1940 512,185 1941 552,744 1942 1.611,659 (By Quarters for Fiscal Year Ended June 29, 1941) First Second Third Fourth Quarter Quarter Quarter Quarter $153,878 $153,128 •$32,242 $277,980 (By Quarters for Fiscal Tear Ended June 27, 1942) First Second Third Fourth Quarter Quarter Quarter Quarter $261,703 $476,044 $204,201 $669,709