Variety (Oct 1943)

Wetlnesday, Oclobgr 6, 1943 PiCTUBES • s icUire. companies ai»d theailies* are expeclcd to turn moi-c to radio ' and pui-l'"(i '"'f 'flC'is pt adveriij- iiig.'as result of riilioiiiiiR of lineage ill ne\vspa|)ors, • an' additional 5"t cut iiv newsprint impospd upon lat- ter citcctiyc Friday (D. bringing .«;u|ime total so far to. 15"^.: An- other ciil is foreseen; by Jan. 1; Papers ill several towns; have imnic- diateh' imposed restrictions, while believed liiicly the amount of,space to be allowed aimiscmonts will be generally cul' Ihrpuglioul the coun- try. . ■ ■ ,. . ■' ■ ■ ■ pirion i.s that the radio .serves a.< a good medium for, advertising of pictures, parlicuiarly in cbnneclinn with national campaigns projected by distri.buiors. aiid also that, thea- tres locally may make up« for lost lineage tlirbuelv thi.-i meail.s or in inore posting, .window cards, etc. While N. Y. City papers have; iiot as yet indicated film advei lising will be rationed. Ifs not'' unex;pectcd. Among- cities Avhich already in whole or part are icstricijng lineage are Washington. Cleveland. . Pittsburgh, •Detroit- and St. Louis, .with the-ra- tioniKR varying/; Staled that spiiie papers in these cities are refusing lii take complete cooperative campaigiis \vhere the, lineage , adds- up im- portantly, I ■ For a short space of time hot long, iiv U; Y,, the Daily News, tab,' re- stricted . amiisemeiit advertising in order to catch Hp with ilseU on newsprint,; Beck CM/s IntT Pix noH.vwood. Oct.'., John Beck, formerly' with. Music, Corp. of America, js now general in;iiiaij;or of rnternalionar Pictures. One of his chores will bo to aid William o'etz and Leo Sp.ii'it in cast- ing and peisonnel. problems. SI. Louis* Aclloh St. Lpuis, Oct. 5. Only the Post-Diipatch tPulitzer) hiJs taken a stand on its flicker house advertising since the 15% newsprint cut became effective Friday (1). As a result of a luncheon powwow two wtcks.acio, a voluntary and verbal 'pact wa.s reached whereby the first and. 'second-run and chain fiickcr . hou.scs, starting Qcl. 1 will use only 80% per rnonth- Pf ;he lineage used last year of the same dale. The indie nabes which use direc- tory advertising w ill not be affocled .by the reduced lineage policy unlit.ss -they voluntarily' accept it-as the larger houses have tacitly agreed to absorb it. - In the event the space used by the indiv'idual theatre is not of sufficient voluine to earn the minimum rate enjoyed prior to. last Friday th6 Post-pispatch w-ill permit the thea- tre to cphtinue to exercise that privi- lege. In addition the rates will hot be upped. The Star-Times, the other p.m. rag, and the plPbe-Democrat, the . only 'a,m. sheet'in town have not, as yet, indicated they will deviate, trom their current policy. For Postwar B.O. CpnsidcratJle , re-shufTling of di.s- trjbutinn plans for piciurcs now Hearing completion or still in pro- diiclioii ' beiiig. dpne quictl.y .by several major companies, to inslire'a sturdy backlog of lealurcs deemed mo,'i.t suitable,for the post war. ma'r- kel. While alert producers are no niore 'certain of when the war. will end than military experts, they are shaping releases in.expectation that it may be over Within the next 18 inonihs. . Reasoning bqck of .' this'. re-shut- fling is that light musical fare (.some of it rather lighLNycight in all-rbuhd dri(winfi power, loo) and. certain war pictures arc tailbr-rhadc for .current picture theatre trade, which leans heavily on war plant workcr.s and others currently new-rich because of War spending. In contrast, pie- lure executives foresee films that, appeal' tp every cla.ss of patron as filling- better inlp the postwar era^ They figure such screen fare has a bigger chance'ot clicking at the the-' aire than much of current prpducl.: Consequently they are'quietly build- ing lip a healthy inventory on the sheit of such universal-appeal prod- uct. Enright Majors at RKO Hollywood.' Oct. 5. . RKO signed Ray Enright to. direct two more pictures as a' result of jiis recent work pn The .Iron Major." First of the pair will be another Pat O'Brien slari-er, "Marine Raid- ers." to be produced by Robel't Fel- low.s. ■ More Action for Pivar Hollywood. Oct; Universal upped Ben Pivar. as- sociate producer . for several years, to supervising production executive. Pivar's new job. is to oversee ac- tion pictures, wcsteriis and shorts. Justice Dept at Zero Hour Nixes Permission for Loew-Reade Deal The deal under -'which 'Loews would have, bought, out. Walter Reade, wealthy independent opera- tor, in 44 eastern theatres - Stid 47 pieces of real estate, said to have been" ehtiiely agreed upon, has been thrown into :the discard by Ihe De- ■ partinent of Justice, according to 'reports. This sudden action by Vashinglpn followed iiidicatipns last. .week lhat there wiould be: no ofll- , ciai disapproval'of the tralisaclion. Reports that It would be okay fol- lowed a personal visit to Robert L. Wright, assistant iattornev. general of the D. of J„ by Nicholas "m. Scheiick; pi-esident of Loc'w"s, and J. Robert Rubiii, v.p, and general couii.sel. Loew's had prpcccdcd pn the ' transaction' with Reade and spent several ■ thousa.hd dollars making audits^ and appraisals in the firm be- lief that the D. of J. would approve the deal, since the deal 'would mere- ly -inyoiye a change ' in ownership rather than a change in the cpmpeti- iive situation as afTecting .other ex- hibitors. As result of the Loew deal flop- ping, Reade is expected to retain his .Circuit, and direct its activities as far as his health w'ill permit, rather than entertain , any other po.ssible pUr- clia.ses;since, it is known on inside, that' he'does not want to .sell -pul except on a cash-basis and ho one, •SO far as can .be Icai ned, would be able to swing a,deal outside of the ,'Big 5'. decree companies. At tlic beginiiing, when Reade decided to retire, he entertained a deal with Si .Fabian, indie chain operator, but Fabiaii. from accounts, wanted to spread the purchase price over a pe- riod ' of years. ., It went cold. as a icsuit, Lbcw's; mcaiilime s.tepping into, liie picture, Warner Bros, liad put in a nibble, al.s ,'but went iiy further. Doubted now thai the p. of J. would permit Patiian to.buy out' Reade. wore there a deal. I'lie Loew deal with Read'o would, have involved, oyer .Slft.O0O;0QO. it i-s. reported. Understood" that of the 47 pieces of real estate owned by Reade. the total of mortgages runs under. S400.000. Properties include the .May- ti)ir theatre and building' iii the heart of Times Square. .N. Y.. the Plaza!. N. Y.v .and.. thealre>.. other pippertic.s in .\. J. and upstate'N.Y.: as fill-a> S;iraloy;i Springs. y MORI KRfSHKN Wliile picture 'coni|mn,x; ' tniipers,; have been; expressing; tears .that cur- | rent iusii bo.'cptflce pel iod may end j aliruplly wlienever the war- ends, ; flnanciei's and ^rononiists attached io. other indtistiirs are.; isrussiug dnn^ei's of a terrific spending spree; resulllnfir from tlie vast reserves of 'hot money" wliicli has -been accutnii- latfd through higher waRfs and cost of consumer goods now prevailing. ' With, individual savings of around $GO;(i00.00.0.1)pO. largely ill the hands, of wage-earners.and farmers, it is es- tinvatod that accumulation bt extra coiii by consumers by the end of the war will equal normal expenditui;cs for a.year and a half. ;Dr. Muiciis Nadler. economist of the' Cenli al' Hai.iover Bank & Trust Co., last week predicted a price level, higher than during the "30i>, and. pos-. sibly; abovp the '20s for; the postwar period. , br; .Waller S. Lahdis. -.p. .of !the. American. Cyanami Co.. althpugh dpubting development of, a - posl\yar spending spree, also predicted a high price level. ■ Consensus of .opinion is that wages will continue high and, if ?hot money"' does not. actually emerge in suffi- cient volume to threaten national ecpnom.v via an unc'ontrollablie infla- tionary spiral, these billions in re- serves will at any rate serve as an immense reservoir of buying power. ' Theatre Adjuncts; Hurt Then ; ^Pointed but by financial execs in the film trade that, during the de- pression era in the '30s, when most of the major producer-distributor chains went into bankriiptiiy, the up- heaval was due in as-large measure to unwise over-expaiisiori. In theatre purchases and; construction as tb. the elTecls bf the; general national de- pression. Contention is that, despite the inevitable drop in business due to. unemplbynicht, most of the ma- jors would have weathered the de- pression if their corporate founda- tions had bePh more solidly estib- Ushed. ■ Some execs, recalling the los.ies in- curred as a result of foolhardy the- alie expansion, slate (hat the pro- duclipn-distribulion branch of the iiidusirv never lost much coiii at any time. Meantime, conditions prevailing in the film ipduslry currently are on a inuch sounder basis than at any time in liie past. Outstanding mortgage, boiid and. other loans have been heavily reduced during the pa.st two or three years. Some of the costliest theati'ical buildings have, been com- pletely writ-ien oil by all oMhe riia- jor chains. tLoew's Slate, N. Y., for one. is reportedly being carried on the books at $1). Thus, a probable drop from the national wartime annual income of Ov?r $150,000,000,000, pending recon- version of war induslrie.s, would likely find picture business in a posi- (Continued on page 55/ Red Turns Purple at 20th ■ lloUyvvopd, Oct. 5. don .'Rod' Barry •clinibcd bfi' his lio,'-s aiid traded Ivis 10-gallon skim- mer tor a military uniform in "The Purple Heart." 'iran.sfer wiis a Ibaiiout deal bCr twcon Republic, where Barry rides, and'iOlh-Fox; where-baViyl F, Zan- uck is seeking dim lio-mcn for his higli-budgel production. es BISCHOFF'S PARDS 6; In on His Legiter, 'Mother"s Day,' Current in Chi Holl.vwood, Oct. 5. Having a weakness for parlriers in hi.s extra-curricular enterprises. Siain BischofV cut in six oiriiis legil- ei . 'Mother's Day.' now running, in FiM«co, RetaiuHig 4o"; ' for himself, he gave up lO'-/' each ai:$2,.500 per share, to, Hal Wallis, .lohn M, Stdhl, ;.'\-| Rogeil. Ednuiiid Lowe and Ted ;Lewi>. . Holding a;5'; interest is Dave Ki)- stciri. who >> Bi;scholI'.s press agent. BiSHioll is hopcrul tiial bis partners will: do belte ■ in this venture than those who invested in- his .safely razui manufacliiriiiK ' projecl. Anger's Heart Attack; '; '■ ■ :~ iiilUywimd. Oc;. A4^g('i.. vei'j)ee; ii. :-ge ol, j United Arti.-i> , Ihi'atics aiui exec ;iKle I'l' .).o.>i'pli M.. Sclvc'icit. -n,- ' iu-.hed ti< the-li«~!)ilji uiicbii.iCioiij-;, } foUiK'.iiig a hcHi-! aliack iit ti e iOl., • Fiix C'iinnii>s:iry; j Later IV! rallied and t'<:|>Hr.lod ojl 1 af danger. ■With net pioftt.^ foi- of the major' companies currently running subslantially ahead of a year ago. Wall Street . is displayin renewed inteiesl in film, compaiiy earnings possibilities for - tlie - flnal three mbhihs of 1943, Such revived in- terest is said back of recent pur- chases-by different portfolios' On any reaction of a pbint or so, with the result that even reacliphary trend in the market, as a whole has nOt dislodged many picture stocks from close proximity to their year."s hl?hs. The. most prosperous seison of the year for the amusement busihes,s, as llnancial circles regard the fall-win- ter period, has taken on added lustre for investors Ihis'year. Aside fiom the long li.st of high-powered b!o. product launched last mpnth and be- ing readied, for October and Novem- ber release, the Street is watching closely the long rbns of such pic- lures and checking ,bn production costs. financial quarters are ' intrigued by sitiiatiori where each producer is turning out fewer pictures but, those completed, are showing greater profit than the larger, number made and released in previou.s' season.s. The liOldoyer and e.xte'nded runs are pil- ing up greater net piofit.s per pic- ture, financial people have learned. If theatre busines.s.continues,com- paratively as strong as in the', first 9 months,.: Wall Street is looking for satisfactory net profits as compared with last year, AKso expected that some- of the leading rriajor com- panies, despite the heavy Federal income and -excess profits lax, may hit new highs in net profits for; 1943. E. L. Alpcrson,' general manager of RKO Theatres; assumes cpihplpte authoiity over all tlicalre operations, following, elevation of: Malcolni, Kihg.-;bcrg: to -post of chief financial oliiccr of the company with a seat on tile directorate.; Because, of the idea.'; i)Oth; Alperson and Kil).g.sber.g have regarding opei;,iting policies, involving both the Iheal'ie aiid film .•iubsids; Alpersor. will now; report dir .icelly to iV, Peter Ratluoii; RKO prexy. ' King.^berg's duiies. from accounts, will cover more extensive gibiind than previously.: involving di.ftribu- lion. theatre and financial policies. Possibility is that Al Dawson, like Kingsberg,a. Harvard Easiness School alumnus, will vvoi-k directly under ;Kingsbei'g. Dawson, among olliers: has . been mentioned for post -as treasurer of RKO Theatres, though a final deci.sibn has. not ypt been made by Alpcisoiv. Kingsbei-g: has Ipng been an aclvp- ; cate 0/ independent operation of the theatre and.fllm subsids, coining into RKO at a time when theatre hojd- iiigs, in common with, other major producer-distributors, were overex- tended in . order to assure added. playjng time ror,each company's own product. Kiiigsberg at that time found that, in' .some 'cases, annual rentals on some'of the theatres RKO had taken over exceeded the, annual, grosses. . On slrehgin of RKO Theatres' showing under Alperson, however, RKO prexy Rath von, has been hesi- tant about eflfecting any major change in current operating poli- ;eie.s. Additional authority has thus, beeii, vested in Alpcrson in direct theatre operation, .while Kingsberg win cover .broader and more general policy, spheres.- including postwar: planning. U's 18,445,538 Profit For 39 Weeks; $2,771,338 Net Although profit before Federal in- come and excess profits taxes, amounted to $8,44.5,538 in the first ."IS week,s ending last July 31, Univer-; sal's net profit afler.,taxes for the period totalled only $2,771,338: Despite huge tax writeoff, the net figure represents an increase of nearly $000,000 over net profit a year ago when U reported $1,873,443, For comparable 39 weeks-a year ago, the company's profit before providing for Federal income and excess prof- its taxes- amounted to $4,4B2,t!43. m 1 n m Biz and Less Product Hasten Deals Minneapolis, .Oct J. .:i)istrict and exchange heads here report less exhibitor resistance to sell than ever before and attribute it to the. generally healthy boxoffjct conditions now. prevailing through- out' the territory. Exhibitors are; really in 'a ^buying .mood' and di.s- playini;; 'hiorc willingness to'.have the film, .companies share in: the pro.'.pei ity.' according to branch man- agers. ■TJic decreased amoiinl of product available al.so is helping to make selling easier. il'.-> a.ssiM lcd. ■ 'Exhibito.is oiil.^id.n Ihe Twin Cit- ies: -where ircw-nca.-ion selling now is ing place, are le.-i.-f' disposed to cavil iaboiil prices' or' terms,' .says M. L. Lev.v, 20th-Fo.x di.<trict man- ager, Lev.v- .sjiys tjiat^ the present 20th- Fo.\ deal is,based on .'ability to pay" and ha.s r(!suUe(l in a parlicuiarly fiiv <)riil)le roci'plio"n on the exhi - or.^'.liart... .More 'Kcir Dates Thoiigh running up again.-l some rcsi.slaiui": as anticipated when terms arc liigli. Pdramount i.-'.closing a rargi" number of rloal.- on "For Wlibin. the Bell Tolls' at .70''; of the gro.-s ai (t at '.mini'Tiiiri'. adi.tiissions of 75c iiotini'i'.-. St.10 evening.^. Clo.se to 200 dales-have been set for October and rfljvember on deals already, made, while numerous; others are in work which will in- crease, the tola! before November is over. Picture has opened - in onl.v nine spots .so far, N. 'Y'., 'Washington, Chicago, Lo,'.- Angeles.' San Fran- cisco. D.clrbit. Fort Wprlh, Dallas and Columbus. . ; : >' Paj- sales' are also running .strong on the la.it block for the : 1942-43 season which included •'J'ro"udly We Hai|,' drtlMij? on which i.s' widespread. •Republic closed a deal with the Loew's: rnptiopblitan circuit Xor the. 1943-44 pi pdiict.-covering the N, Y. mciropoliian area. This is a i-e'newal br a deal which has existed between Republic and Loew's for the past rcw^ vcars. ' Dcpinct Back; Goldwyh's 'Star' As Roadshow ? Nod k .Ucp'iiK't. RKO''Fiadipi'v.p, in charge (if distribiilioii, returned to Nevv N'oik from the Coast Monday 14) following liuddlcs with Samuel CJolfiwyn on merchandising'plans for "Norili ,.Star..''' . ' ' .Under.-itood IhJl' Goldv.-yn I.s plan- ning .spot -Star' for a two-a-day run in a New York showc:i.<e.