Variety (Apr 1945)

PICTURES Wednesday, April 4, 1945 What To Do With The German Film Industry? By DARRVl. F. ZANUCK (IWr. ZuiiiicK-,' .rice-president of 20ih-Fo.i-. irrole litis Article /or a recent issue af-Jlw bulletin of the Society for the Prevention oj World Wnr lll.i 38 Injured As Ceiling Falls in Texas Theatre . . ; Odessa. Texas, April .3. When coiling of .the Odessa-theatre . ■ .. „j collapsed last. Wednesday nisht (29). koning ie at hand )g - we ,. e injured, none scri- ously. The theatre was packed at the time, a dinner.show. The day of roc tor Germany. When that day conies, let us hope that the sinister record of the Gorman motion picture indus- try will not be left out of the final accounting. The danger is real. It is not thai the United Nations will fail to con- ' Eider the .subject of films in drawing their blueprint .for the control of Germany after the war. It is thai such, consideration may not go deep enough or far enough. To deal with the subject realistic- ally, a good many of the pet but antiquated notions' about motion pictures will have to go out the window. It will -be necessary, too, to bring many of bur spokesmen up to dare on : what motion pictures have come to mean in recent years* and on their potentialities for good or evil. The fact is that few outside the Industry recognize these potentiali- ties or are aware of the. vast , and significant changes which, the. film industry has undergone under the impact- of war.. Too many still are prone to regard films-as escapist froth without real meaning or im- portance. It is unfortunate that this is so, for unless we properly understand • and evaluate motion pictures we may leave to the vagaries of chance a weapon which can be used for in- calculable good or harm in shaping the future. - It has been used for. evil in the dictator countries and used, it must be admitted, with great cunning and efficiency. The record is there, plain for all to read. It is a record of the debauchery of a great art and educational medium—a black record that should be highly in- structive to the planners of the future. The dictators were quick to seize control of the film. facilities in the countries under their- sway. The motion picture industries of Ger- many and Italy felt the heavy hand of the dictators even before they began to stifle the press. The screen was used to pave the way for aggres- sion by conditioning the mind -of the masses to a belief in the absurd theories of the master race, the glory of war and the moral and material benefits to be acquired by brute force. Later, the screen in those lands became an outright propaganda (.Continued on page 11) Thalia (Chi) Counsel * Denied Reversal On Tenured" Testimony ^ * /Russian recognil Chicago, Api'rl .3. 1 A plea by Lester Murray, counsel for Thalia theatre, to Federal .fudge William A. Holly to reverse judge s decisions of last Feb. 6 :and 8. up- setting jury's finding of $105,000 for the former Thalia owners, was re- jected by Judge Holly. Thursday (29). following which .Murray indi- cated-he'll now take the case to the circuit court of appeals. Murray based his pica on the ar- gument that Sam Gbrelick, -RKO branch, manager here, testified in the Jackson Park theatre trial , a year ago that RKO.- as producer and dis- tributor, was also tied 1 in on- a mo- nopolistic theatre ownership deal, but that, he 'denied this during the Thalia hearing.' thus, according to Murray, perjuring himself. Murray tried to go into a rehash of the whole trial, but Judge Holly cut him short, claiming plaintiff's case- had been based on charges of conspiracy, which were never proved. "Gorelick's testimony in the Jack- son Park case was not brought up in the Thalia trial," Judge Holly said. "I fail to see, at this late date, how I can consider it." Judge's announcement followed appeal by Murray and rebuttals by Myles Seeley, defense attorney, who stated Gorelick had no duties in con- nection with theatre operations of RKO; that he had no intention of deceiving the court, and that it wasn't till • year or so after the Thalia went out of business that RKO's theatre-ownership of the RKO-Grand theatre here was set. Brazil's About-Face On. USSR to Ease U.S. Pix .Rio <le Janeiro, April 3. Fact that Brazil has finally estab- lished relations with Russia for the first time .since (he czarlst regime is expected in picture industry circles to bring a complete about-face in the altitude of Brazilian censors -on American pictures.'- Brazil and also Argentina, to' a considerable extent, have been vigorously opposed to anything pro-Russo getting - into screen productions pi' newsreels. This attitude has held up U. S. features depicting Russia in a favorable light. For years all reference, lo Russian victories or scenes with a Russian lo- cale showing natives .in a happy mood have been sharply pruned by the local censors when uncovered in newsreels. The anti-Russian altitude has held, up the release of Metro's for months. With recognition officially set. Metro hopes • to obtain approval shortly for showing the picture in this country. "Song" was passed in Argentina, but only after severe cut- ting.- Not known here what Argentina will dp 'regarding Russia, but felt that its entry into Allied ranks may ultimately bring about similar recog- nition. U13 Wk. Net $1,083,601 Universal Pictures consolidated net. profit was $1,083,601 for the tirst^ 13 weeks of the corporation's fiscal year ended last Jan. 27 as compared with $1,214,001 in corresponding period of preceding fiscal year. Before Federal income and excess profits taxes, the company's consolw dated net profit amounted lo $1,737,- 601 as compared'_ with" "$1,946,70.1 in like period in preceding year. Twin City Indies Agaii After Distribs, Pledge New Checking Co. Gets Under Way . Recently organized .by five major distributors to handle the checking of percentage engagements, Confi- dential Reports, Inc:, opened offices Monday (2) In all of the 31 exchange keys, with around 4,000 managers, assistant managers, supervisors And checkers employed as a starter. The personnel has been carefully* chosen and are bonded. According to Jack H. Levin, head of the Copyright ... _, ^Protection Bureau, who's v.p. and AlU tO DlVOrCement «eneral manager for Confidential ,w ■»«»•*■■«*■■■»'»» Reports, the number of employees Casanave's Bid to FC Franchisers Doesn't Mean It's a Takeover While Charles L. Casanave is un derstood negotiating with indepen dent franchise-holders who are tied up with Film Classics to join .a new distribution-production organization there have been no negotiations for his purchasing Film Classics.' Franchise-holders in FC might also Tie in with another distribution production unit, such as the organi- zation Casanave is reported plan ning. They would still continue as FC units, however, and may have to secure FC homeofflce approval be- fore making outside deals of this type. E. L. Alperson and "Nicky" Gold hammer stated last week that there have been no negotiations with Casanave or anybody else to "take over" Film Classics. STAR BUILDUP CAUSES PIC RELEASE SWITCH Hollywood, April 3, - Paramount is switching the release schedule on Hal Wallis product, pushing "You Came Along," cur- rently in work, ahead of "Love Let- ters,"- recently completed, Reason is Llzabetti Scott, making her screen debut as- co-star with Robert Cummin'gs in "You Came Along." After seeing Miss Scott in rushes and hearing her husky voice, something like Lauren Bacall's, stu- dio execs decided to give her buildup- campaign to Introduce her to the general public. 'Green Mansions- Rights To Cassidy; PRC Go-By Hollywood; April 3 James B. Cassidy has straightened out all copyright difficulties sur- rounding the W. H. Hudson novel, "The Green Mansions," and has pro- moted a New York bankroll for its filming on a $2,000,000 budget. Script was completed months ago. Copyright tangle was brought up recently by Harry Gourfain, indie producer, who declared • the novel was in public domain in various parts of the world, and announced his Intention of filming a small- fcudget "Green Mansions" for PRC release. On advice of its legal de- partment, PRC has abandoned the Gourfuin project. H. M. Warner Pitches To Exhibs for 2-Reeler For the first time in years, Harry M. Warner has; written a personal letter to exhibitors, boosting a pic- ture released by the firm. It is probably also the first time that Warner has ever taken such a step in connection with a short. Letter, asking for quick showing of . twp-reeler, "It Happened in Springfield," was addressed to ex hibitors all oyer the country this week. It stresses civic importance of this-.film, which was made at Springfield, Mass. The short shows that city's methods of teaching chil dren the real meaning of democracy racial tolerance and better citizen ship. Declaring that Warner Bros, made the picture "as part of our effort to combine good citizenship with good picture-making," the letter slates: "This picture can do much good for civilization. It is good entertain- ment, and It is a timely subject of much Interest. • You will find the people of your community will wel- come it. Church, school and. civic groups will support it. It will earn good . will •for your theatre. I am sure you will want trim picture. Since it Is just- a matter of booking it quickly, I am anxious that you give it your best possible playing time." LOEW'S 3-FOR-l SPLIT SLATED FOR APRIL 9 The 3-for-l common stock splitup of Loew's, Inc:, was approved by the special meeting of company stock- holders last week in N. Y., with ac- tual split being made on April 9. Whole stock splitup plan was okayed, which means that common shares will be increased from 4,000,- 000 to 6,000,000. Elimination of 300.- 000 preferred shares also is included, this representing the only preferred now outstanding. Certificates for two additional shares of Loew's com- mon for each one held will be mailed about May 9. Shareholders will not be required to exchange their present certificates.. Special meeting also okayed hew personal service contracts for Nich- olas M. Schenck, president; Eddie Mannix, Al Lichtman and Benjamin Thau, and reelected the old slate of directors. New pact voted to Schenck calls for extension of the old con tract, from Jan; 1, 1947, to Dec. 31, 1949,'at his present $2,500 weekly salary plus 214% of combined net profits ..after certain deductions. New contracts for Mannix and Lichtman run from Jan. l v 1944 to March 1 1954. with compensation staying the same..Thau's new pact covers the same period but calls for salary boost from $1,750 to $3,000 weekly, plus 0.7% of combined annual prof- its not to exceed $200,000. Directors renamed were . David Bernstein, Leopold Friedman, Eu- gene V. Leake, C. C. Moskowitz, W>1 Ham A. Parker, Schenck, J. Robert Rubin, David Warfield, Henry R, Winthrop and Joe R. Vogel. Rubin, who presided at the meet- ing, said there would be no tax-sav ing as a . result of slock splitup. David Bernstein, company treasurer; said that earnings in the second quarter were running about the same as a year ago, which would make the'first six months of T^oew's fis- cal year have a net profit of around $7,000,000. However, no definite fig ures are available as yet. New -directorate met. after the stockholder session and elected the same slate of company officers, these including Schenck. president Bernstein, v.p. and treasurer; Rubin W. F. Rogers, E. A. Schiller, Licht- man, Mannix, Howard Dietz, Mosko- witz, Vogel and Sam Katz, vice- presidents; Friedman, secretary Jesse T. Mills, comptroller. Minneapolis, April 3. . After two years of comparative docility, Twin City Independents are again after distributors' : scalps. They've replaced Henry Greene as president of their organization, North Central Allied, with Bennie Berger, independent circuit owner, and announced appointment of a committee "lo alleviate present dis- tributors' exorbitant rental demands." Reversing a previous stand, they've also decided to support the; theatre divorcement bill, aimed at the Min- nesota Amus. Co. (Paramount cir- cuit), how pending in the slate leg- islature. Following a special "emergency meeting," it was announced a com- mittee has been authorized "to take up the matter of prohibitive increas- es in film rentalsXwith the Office of Price Administration and with sen- ators and congressmen." The an- nouncement revealed that a fund has been raised for the purpose of em- ploying legal talent and for news- paper and radio advertising to in- form the public ot the independent exhibitors' "terrible plight." At a previous meeting a few weeks ago, the same organization voted to withhold support-from the theatre divorcement bill in the Minnesota state legislature. After the "emer- gency meeting,", however, it was an- nounced "there was a unanimous vote in support of . the bill." The statement said "this organization has pledged Itself to fight and work for divorcement bill so long as the producers and distributors will be in the exhibition business." Studio Contracts Hollywood. April 3 William Castle, dir., renewed, Col, Milton Rosen, musical director, U, Dplores Day, actress,. Metro. Dixie Wanda Hendrix, actress, WB, Anita Alvarez, actress, Col. Rod Cameron, actor.,Universal. Donna Hamilton, actress, 20lh. Oliver.Drake, dir., renewed. Mono. Marguerite Belle, actress! ,20th.' Mary Jane Woods, actress. 20th. I. A. Bezzerides, writer. Par. Virginia Sale, actress, Warners. Dorothy O'Hara, designer. Par. Clem Bevans, actor, 20th-Fox. C. Harriman, asst. prod., Bennett Bertram Millhauser, writer, U. CONVICTIONS OF THE 7 IA RACKETEERS STICK Washington, April 3. The U. S. Supreme Court '.yester- day' (2) nixed an appeal that it re view the convictions of the seven ex-IATSE officials who shook down Metro, Paramount, 20llt-Fox, War- ners, etc., for over $1,000,000, The trial in N, Y. # federal district court resulted in l'0-year sentences . and a $10,000 fine each for Louis Cam- pagna, Paul de Lucia, Phil D'Andrea, Charles . Gioe, John Rosselli and Francis Maritpte. Louis Kaufman drew a $10,000 . fine and a seven year sentence. The racketeers were convicted for collecting "protection" money on threat of calling strikes tn tie up all phases of the industry. They carried an appeal to the second circuit court in New York and when it upheld the trial court, they appealed to the "high court In Washington. Rep Hikes Budget On Tinted 'Concerto' Pic will be, raised to approximately 5.000 . by May 1. Intent of the organization. Levin stressed, is to cooperate with ihe exhibitor in every way and render whatever service that is possible, while, at the same lime, of course, providing reports on results of per- centage engagements in behalf, of distributors that will be strictly con- fidential and free of aiiy'.tampering, as far as can be humanly attained, or taking unfair advantages, trick- ery, etc.' All employees are being forced to pass strict tests on bund- ing. , Confidential Reports, Inc., a N. Y.. corporation, was organized following long planning and discussions by RKO, Paramount, United Artists, Universal and Columbia, which have received stock in CRI in proportion to the investment made by each in selling.up the company. According to the« certificate of in- corporation,, filed Jan. 10 last and signed Thursday (29) of the past week, capital stock of CRI is $20,000, the number of shares being 200 at a. par value of $100 each. The shares are in five classes (A, B, C, D and E), each "group being 40 shares. Privileges, voting powers, etc., of each class varies. Officers are John J. O'Connor, v.p. of Universal, who's president: Harry '■■■ D. Buckley, v.p. of UA, holder of the post of treasurer; and C. J. <P«t) - Scollard, executive assistant to Charles M. Reagan, Par's distribu- tion head, who's secretary, plus Levin. Scollard at 1 Par is in charge, of various exchange operations and certain labor matters but like the other officeholders in CRI.is not di- rectly associated with sales. It was intentional that the officers should not be, it's pointed out. While the CRI certificate of in- corporation does not say so spe- cifically, it is officially stated that Ihe company will confine Its opera- tions strictly to the checking of per- centage engagements of film. Hollywood, Apuil 3. Republic paid $100,000 for screen rights to "Concerto," the American Magazine story by Borden Chase, based on the -career of Lee Keith (Mrs, Chase), onetime .cb,jld prodigy and concert pianist. "'.':•'' Picture is slated as the flrsl pro- duction by the Frank Borzage unit, to be made' in Technicolor oh. a budget said to be $1,600,000, a new financial record for the Republic lot. 'Yearling; Youngster Inked Hollywood, April 8. Claude Jarman, Jr., 10-year-old „. . . ... Kid from Nashville; Tenn., was Chase is doing the screenplay, daled^jgnea , or the role ot Jody in < The for an early July staj t; * \eariing." winding up a sixmonth Secondary Sale of 5J>,000 Shares of Universal Stock Secondary offering of Universal Pictures common was made last week. Blyth & Co., and Graham, Parsons & Co., offered 55,000 shares a't $22.75-a share. This is the price at which U common has been sell- ing in .recent dealings. . '.11 was bought up promptly the day offered. Additional slock was handled ap- parently fpr the estate of a former. Universal stockholder, none ' of shares.'being offered by company officials. U. S. to Hear Contest Of Interstate Theatres In Tax Assessments Dallas, April ;3. Disputes between Uncle Sam and members of the Interstate Theatres group, involving more than $320,000 of income and excess profits taxes, are scheduled to be heard by the' Tax Court of the U. S. in the com- ing week. In five petitions members of the group. are contesting deficiency as- sessments by the Bureau of Internal Revenue for the years 1937 through 1941. Largest of the assessments, totalling $158,450, was against the Galveston Theatres, Inc. The other contesting petitions were filed by the Brownsville" Amus.. Co., Interstate Circuit,. Inc., and Albuquerque The- atres, Inc. The cases, consolidated for hear- ing, will be heard by Judge C. V. Opper of Washington. search by Metro scouts. Youngster will be sent to. Ocala, Fla., where Clarence Brown is direc- ting the picture, recently takeiv off the shelf, where it had been gather- ing dust since an abortive attempt at. production several years ago. McCormick'fl Coast O.O. ■ ' Hollywood, April 3. . S. Barret McCorrriick, RKO ad- publicity chiefj\got in yesterday i2) from the east for a fortnight of hud- dles with Perry Lieber, studio flack chief, and a gander at new product Terry Turner, company's, exploita- tion, head, joins them Thursday '4).