Variety (May 1943)

Wedoesday. May 5, 194» U s Mej^er Han hoM to Court As Economy Move; Common Issue Stays Vnni expecled merger and cor-*, poiaif simptiflcatlon plan for Uni- versal was revealed in N. Y. Su- prejuc Court last Monday (3) when tl'.e court was asked to rule on its fairness. Approval ol the merger by the court would mean that Universal Corp. would acquire the business and assets ot Universal Pictures Co., Inc.. and assume the liabilities. Pro- paseH litle fur merged companies is Universal Pictures Co., Inc. Papers given the court before the trial ot a minority stoclcholder's ac^ lion Hcninsl Universal Pictures, et al. revealed that the purpose ot the plan is l(» increase operation effl- licncv and cut expenses. Supreme Court Justice William T. Collins, to whom ihe application was submitted, ordered all stockholdcrb of record bR. notiftcd and set hearing on objec- tioiis for May 19. Three basic features of plan call for clearing up all outstanding 8% ni'st preferred at a cost of about $1,444,000, elimination of present pic- ' lure comuany common stock and re- tirement of halt of $4,000,000 worth of 5% convertible debentures due in 1946. Also would call for cancella- tion ot $2,000,000 in 1% second pre firred of picture company (owned bv Universal Corp.) together with about $2,216,000 accrued unpaid dividends on Oct. 31, 1942. The 231,- 32T shares ot picture company com nion owned by Universal Corp. (Bl>out 92..'i3% of total outstanding) bUo would be cancelled. Three tor One The present holders of Universal Piclure.-i Co. common (about lAT'i ot total) would be given three shares of common In the new Universal Pictures Co., Inc., for each share held, company figuring this would require M.016 shares ot new stock Holders of common voting trust cer- tiltcalcs ot Universal Corp. would b' Riven a like nuipber of common ■hares in new Universal Pictures. By retiring $2,000,000 of the 5 debs <<ine-halt ot total), the plan al.io calls for exteniling the maturity of remaining $2,000,000 to April 1 19.iO. Another feature Is the cancel' lalion of $2,000,000 notes payable ot the piclurr company held by Uni- versal Corp. The redemption ot 8''l preferred, cancellation ot the T<>; preferred and switching both com moil certiOcates and old common of picltn-es company into new common shares leaves the way clear for hold ers of these new shares-to benefit from any Universal earnings. Merger and aimpliflcation will be done by increasing banlfc borrowings by $4,000,000. plan calling for the execution ot a new bank loan agree- nieni. Plan would be submitted to stockholders of both companies at special meetings, with consummation ot plan requiring approval ot at least AA2 3";. ot outstanding common of the two con)panie.>:. Cal/s New Agent taw Hollywood. May 4. Art'bits managers are required to be licensed by the State Labor Com- mission, according to a bill passed by the Slate As.sembly and sighed Mon- day (3) by Gov. Earl Warren. The agent must pay $23 license fee and post $1,000 surely bond to protect his client from. damaRes, 'by reason of a fraudulent or a dishonest act by the applicant or hi,< employees.' The labor commission is vested with the riRhl to refu.se a license it the agent's reputation for truth, hon- esty and inteurily l^ not good. Both the agents and clients are said to be in accord with the provisions of the measure. SET H. J. SHEEHAN BIZ HEAD OF REP. STUDIO Hollywood. May 4 Howard J. Shcehan succeeded E. H. Goldstein as business manager or Republic studios, after six months on Ihe lot as advi.scr.on story ma loriiil and !»oxo!Tice value o( pi turcs. He was formerly an official or Fox-West Coa.st and at one time a film lioiise opuialor on his own, Gulds'.eih resigned two weeks ago ai'ier seven years on the Republic lot. in Minneapolis, May 4. All Puramoinit circuit loop theatres here will rai.<ie their prices starting Friday (T). following in the wake of Ihe Gopher and Orphetim houses. 'A' theatre scales will start at SOc instead ot 30. and arter 5 p.m. will jump to 53c instead ot 30. Orpheum with stage .shows, will have a eSc top in place ot S3. It's the second tilt in Minneapolis scales in a year. Another move to raise loop first- run admi.ssiohs gradually is off to a favorable start, with no public op position or risistance noticeable. It's reported. Paramount, heeding an insistent cry from independent neighborhood exhibitors, who have complained ot an insurHcient spread between first and .subsequent run situations and 'too low prices downtown.' jumped the scale at their loop 'B' house, the Gopher, from 38-.10 to 33c. a week ago. Last week and this one the theatre has done record business. OHIO INDIES TO TAKE UP miNG'PROBLEM Columbus, May 4 Independent Theatre Owners of Ohio is expected to thoroughly air the print .situation at the forth coming 'War Convention' scheduled for May 11-12 in Columbu.":. Under stood that an effort will be made lu prove that die bigge.^l portion ot increased theatre receipl.s come from large llr.'-'t-run thealres in big Ohio keys which are operated by Aim distribution companie.". while smaller exhibitors have lagged be- hind Ihe parade. Not known defl nilely as yet. but ITOO likely will a(l<>mDt to .show jhat many such smaller indies h,iv'e not .shared in the general upbeat In laryer com- munities. ITOO contends that di.siributors have increa.sed their revenue abotit .W;. «ilh 20",. fewer prinl.*. This .slow procedure of top tealures through main deluxe runs has hurt subsequent run house.', according to belief in indie circles here. It has delayed the receipt of such ace product and lias. Ion the Iv.-.-er c.xhib with principal picluies thai l:!ivc been Ihorouithly 'milked' via cx- iei>de<i nir.s in larKor .-.pot.--. P.O. Co-Op Chicaijo, i\Iay 4. A woman from a small Ohio town visited here last week dur- ing which she Inst a pair ot glasses in a downiowu theatre. On arriving home she addressed a letter to the Postmaster here as follows: 'Please deliver this letter to the downtown theatre, situated near the elevated that was play- ing 'Happy Go Lucky' on Satur- day, April 24.' The letter was delivered to the Chicago Theatre, which im- mediately mailed the glasses to the woman. Woes of Exhibitors Aired As MPTOA Meets in N.Y.; Wartime Restrictions, Overbiiying By bdie Sustained Minneai>olis. May 3.' Overbuying of Aim by an exhibitor in a competitive situation was upheld by a Federal district court jury which rendered a decision in favor of the defendant in the $75,000 damage suit brought by the White Bear thea- tre against the State, both ot White Bear, Minn., Twin City suburb. The plaintiff had alleged that dam- ages were sustained by it in conse quence of the defendant's overbuy ing In violation ot the Sherman anti trust law in order to deprive it of Aim product, and thus prevent nor- mal operation. Defense testimony- revealed that one of the two companies. RKO, whose product the defendant was ac- cused ot buying in-order to keep it away from the plaintiff, started serv- icing the latter eight month.s ago. Mrs. T. E. Jenson. State owner, testi' Aed that her purpo.se in buying more pictures than she needed or could u.se was In '.self interest' and for 'self preservatran.' instead ot to deprive the plalntilT of it. An argument advanced by the de- fense was that the town was not large enough to .<;upport two theatres and that Inasmuch as the State had been there 'tor many years before the White Bear's invaNioii. it was en- titled to a buying edge. Mrs. Jenson denied te.stimony that she openly had threatened she would 'buy up all the product' so that the White Bear couldn't get pictures, On cross-examination, branch- man agers and Aim salesmen asserted It's customary for exhibitors to buy more product than they can use in order to slough le.ss desirable picture:. Attention was attracted to the case t>ecause it is believed to be the only one involving overbuying directed solely against a competing inde- pendent exhibitor and not bringing in any distributor as a co-detendant Clearance Cut Msdifled Becau.se clearance was reduced in an upstate New York case to the point where it was felt the run of an intervening house would be in lertcred with, and the consent de- cree is interpreted as not permit (ing any interference with the se- quence of runs, the Appeal Board has granted rcliet sought by Schine Enterprises with respect to il.e O.love and Hippodrome thealres al Glov- ersville, N. Y. When the Smalley circuit, operat- ing the Smalley at Juhi\;itown. N. Y. applied to the local arbitrator at Albany tor a rcduclinn in ihe 30 day clearance enjoyed by the two Gioversville hou.sus. he chopped 10 12. The Schine circuil appealed and the board took the position that '.his n>.|ich ot a c;:t inlrrrcred with the right or the Hipp lo a second rur. following Ihe Glove. A.<< result the Apjkm! Bn.iirl in. creased the clearance to 2:t '\vy< as When -My B.nDy S.nilcs al Me.' lo be ae:"!!"! Ihe former 30 in elTccl. ruel produced I'y Irvini! Briskin. will BandsVFihn Breaks Ted Lewi.-' inusioal for Columbia. uses on Warner Brvs. Hums Hollywood, May 4. Start ot 'The Pentacle' at Warners yesterday (Monday) raised the ac- tive shooting schedule-to Ave. the busiest slate on the Burbank lot since the Arst of the year. Four other features in work are 'This Is the Army,' 'Saratoga Trunk.' 'Aiiimal Kingdom' and To the Last Man.' Five more are waiting to shove off as soon as there is room on tite lot. Gas Curbs Stymie Menace of Jackrabbit exhibitors looks likely to be abated thi.s year, according to advance signs from regular exhibs in smaller towns. Where last year at this time a big inAux ot the Jackrabbit exhibs had started, the crop ot these itinerant showmen currently seems on the downbeat. Several factori appear to be .stymieing these traveling exhib.s. One is that the scarcity ot gasoline and rubber tires not only is discour- aging the Jackrabbit^ them.selves but has cut deeply into regular attend- ance (depending on motor car travel) from the rural areas. An- other development producing this decline is that Jackrabbit exhibs have discovered that boom com- munities which mushroomed from war plant populations already are well served by newly established, regular theatres. This has t>een a real jolt to the traveling exhib who last season was cashing in on this angle. Also the traveling theatre boys no longer are being aided by the usual dislocation of theatre audiences caused by the migration to nearby larger cities. Attendance is fairly static todby in the rural communi- ties served by the Jackrabbit exhib. Fourth factor i.s that farmers cur- rently are spending more time in the Aeld. and le.ss in town tor enter- tainment. Dave bew-Bogeaos Co. Control Gen'l Service Hollywood. May 4. Ownership and control ot General , Service Studios passed lo a syndi- cate headed by David Loew. Ben BoKeaus and banking interests said to be Morris Landau, who was a.sso- cialcd with Bogeaus in other enter- prises. A Loew rep Monday '3i gave Gen- eral Service $100,000 to cover his in- terest in (he syndicate. Bogeaus con- tinu'ev as president, with Loew likely to be chairman ot the board. The sludio will remain as headquarters for United Artists products group, which includes Hunt Stromberg. Ed- ward Small. Charles R. Rogers. Arn- ol.l Pressburger. Andrew Stone and Gregor Rabiiiovitch. Iiave a Mmite Brice ori;;lnal. Glen Gray's Casa Loina band. Tiutiiny .Mori-UM and Pcev.ec Hunt arc >lale(l for another Oiliinibin iBri.skini baiidpic. "Jam Session.' which will likewise have Alviiio Rey and Teddy Powell in It. Meaiiliine Vaughn Monroe check.^ out of llie Moiel Coniinodoie. .\'. V. lonitiht iWed.i to head for his fir.-l Menu niinii.«ical. Meet the Peopl''.' which goes iiil'i ppidiicii.iM .\la> IB. Stahl Stay* at 20th .||i>lly>voi«l. M:.y 4 John M. Sl:ihi. iinrc»illy direcliiig 'Holy MMl.iinotiy" at 20lli - Fov. signed a new cmiiraci wilh 'Col. Ki- liiiiiliam's R.iid' as hi:, next, pilotin;! chore. ■f;ninghain' ;> based on a no\cl oy Barre Fleiii-nis. In be (n odviced CHARGES PHILLIPS OWES 12G ALIMONY Washington, May 4. E. Lawrence Phillips, owner ot the Academy and Stanton theatres, and ot the Johnny J. Jones circu.s. is under $1,000 bond here pending act- ion in a coiirt suit over alimony'. Mr.s. Alamina Phillips a'lleges that he is $12,230 behind in bac' alimony. Under a 1937 court order he was di- rected to pay his wife $275 monthly on which she claims be is in deraull. Phillips brought three suils for divorce, in Florida courts but no decree was Krantcd. She alleges his annual income is from $'23,000 to $40,000 a year. Phillips is well known lo sporls lovers here. He formerly was Ihe aimoiinci r at Ihe Washing ton ball park before Clark Grimih in.'-'iallrc! a public address .s;'::;eM:. Amus. Stocks' New Highs After being in van of the advanc- i:iK thai Ihe 2:i days >iill perniits | ing slock market for several days, ample lime for an imorvfiiiiig run j picture conipany shares this week al Ihc Hippodrome. Deci-ion orders forged to new higlis for l'J43 and. in Lamar Trolti. sci'een)>lay. bv I'liu is al.so doing the thai the Glove shall have Ihe 23 1 days over Ihe Smalley ai nearby 1 Johnstown, while Ihe Kipiiodromv I shall have 14 days over thai house. I All dislribiitor> uiidi-r llie decree. 'Paramount. .Mclni. 20lh. KKO and i Waniejs. are subject to the deeisioii. 2 Texas Drivelns Open DHUii^.^.\lay «. Two Drive-f:. TlAsaire.-. '.vere. re- opened heie by 'A'. (;. L'riHerv.ood and C- C Kz-'l Apiil 30. The ClKilk Hill oi; liie Kl. W-n'Si Pike at Ihe eilijf of il>e Cily hi'ie a i'l oe maiiai(ed bv .^mo-. Kai-. The Bowie Bo!iievar>i in Vii-i Wiiii;. will be managed by Kred .Mrl.lei.ry. Their other house if, tl ii aiea. Ihe .N'orthvvesI Hiiih.v.iy Drive-I:'. will remain clo.sed many ca.-v.-. for last six years. New peak.-' were maric by I'aramounl. $2(i: IIKO common. $1): prernrrcd. $89; 20lh-Fox. S2I.73: Warner Bros.. $l4.2.'i: aiirl (.'n.ver.sal common rcrlil)- cate.s. $19.73. Both CiiUimi)iH Pic- ture.- and Locw's also moved up near year's tops. KliiLinali'iii of f:'07.en coiii in Kng- land phis coiiliiiiied sti'iiii:^ theatre hi/, helped the advance, with U's nierner plan.-. re>poii-ibl» for. big i.liiiib by lis cerlilicatcs. * Wartime restrictions in the opera* tion of picture theatres, self-regu1a> tion of the induslry to correct' long- standing abuses such as high rentals, unfair clearance, percentage de- mands, etc.. as well as the consent decree, arbitration un<'er it which has not worked out lo the satisfac- tion of exhibitors and other matieri are under discussion al the two-day board meetinj; ot the Motion Pic- ture Theatre Owners ot America which started in New York yester- day attcrnoon iTuesday >. Ed kuykendall. prosidonl. who ar- rived in N. Y. Monday i3i. staled that the directors would thoroughly di.scuss everything which currently bears on exhibition. Pusl-war plan- ning is expected to be given con- siderable thought. Kuykendall being ot the opinion that many irritating problems could be brouitht iinde>- control now through greater coop- eration between' distributor and ex- hib. lie is strongly ot the belief that many ills could bj cured lo es- t-'blish post-war unity, \such as ■ minimum cancellatioD option; a sim- pliAed. understandable Contract, a practical method )• mediating griev- ances and complaints, an impartial arbitration systc:n for u<e after me- diation and a cude ot standards of business conduct. 'None ot these.' Kuykendall feels, vould be difllcult to achieve wera . not for the obstiiinte determination to refuse cooperation which has plunged the industry into record liti.^ation a:id disJension. ditAcullIet tl'.at will increase and multiply as the war ends and attention is again centered on civilian eco'^omy by th« agencies for political action.' Stand M CeoMnt Likely Because there is no option to .can- cel pictures when selling under th* decree, the MPTOA board is expect- ed to go on record before winding up today (Wednesdays as either fav- oring a discontinuance of the consent or modlAcation such as was proposed under the United Motion Picture Iii- dustry plan. Drastic cut In supply ot features by the major distributors and th* extended run problem, which Kuy- kendall opines has become very acute, are also likely to be discussed at length, together with excessiva clearance which remains in effect despite changes caused by war. gat rationing, transportation problems, etc. Lowell Mellett. chief of the Mo- tion Picture Bureau of the OWl, and . Allen G. Smith, head of the Amuse- - ment Section of the WPB, are at- tending the board meeting to taka part ill discussions relating to pri- orities, availability ot equipment and other matters tearing on operation of theatres as it concerns Govern- ment agencies in wartime. Both Mellett and Smith who yes- terrlay discii.<>'sed OWI, war activitiea and priorities, etc.. in louiidtabla f.o.-ihion. asked (hat their remarks be olT the record. They huddled wilh Ihe MPTOA directors yeslcrday ariern'Kin (Tuesday), at which time al-o Fraiici."-- Harmon, exec .seciclary of Ihe War Aclivilies Committee, and .Si F.'ibiaii. chiiirnian of Ihe Aiealre division, discus.sed war aclivMies in general as they hear on exiiibii'oii. .^l se-t. i'>!!x to be held this afler- iioon iWodiiesdayj. Kuykendall if .-liiled lo be ielected president of the MI'TOA roi iinolhcr year. Payiiii: Irtbule to engineers as a iiiM.r ■. iial pail or a grout indii>iry who have 'made it pos.-iblc for our tliealre.- lo be vmblein.s of modern pri)Kie.-.-iveiic.->." Kuykendall yes'er- day iTiie.sdayi at luncheon addre.->.{ed llie ai.niial convention or the Society of Motion Picture Enuincers in-N. V. He look occa.-ion to dv.i.-ll on the part :hc ll-'-alrcs or Ihe nation are playing ill conneclioii with war activities. It'» HU Three Ways Holly ...iKifl. .May 4 K'.iit Neiiinanii doubles as writer ' and diiecior following Ihe .salv or I hiS s'.iiiy. ■\'aiii|)i:e-' ot Liiiid.»ii.' to Columbia. I Picliiie goK.- into work in June I with Sam Shiie a- piiMlucei. Eleanor Powell, Murphy Team as Hoofers for U-G Hollywood. .May 4. K'.vunw Powell and George Mur- phy li-a-i: :i|> 8s dancers in "Up and Down Bioad'.-.ay.' a top budgei mu- -ical ;.' Technicolor, lo \)e produced iiy Jdi-k (.'unimiiigs al .Mclrl^ Fi'iiiiiig siarls late lhiii° monlli A Mil .several name baiid.\ and song niiiiibcis liv Gene De Paul and Don Raje.