Variety (May 1946)

Wednesday, May 1, 1946 PICTURES While Altruistically Intended, N. Y. Theatre Men Fear License Commr. s Plan on 'Honest' Pix Advertising 21 The gram, 'controversial- five-point pro-t proposed by N. Y. License Commissioner Fielding to regulate theatre ads, which bids fair to be the storm-point of the new'theatre code, will come .up for public hearings, alons with the code itself, within the month. Promulgation of licensing regulations, currently being dratted by Fielding, is an administrative procedure'.'requiring no action higher-up. than the commissioner himself. Hearings will be held, how- ever. Fielding explained, to afford all -elements of the exhibition field a, forum to air their beefs and suggest changes. In a further proffering'of the olivc- fiVanch. Fielding promised to call in reps of both the Motion Picture Ass'n and the American -Theatres Ass"n for huddles preliminary to presentation of the. ad code in final form. His stand was apparently spurred by. the declaration of an MPA spokesman that it would op- pose any move towards political jn- flilralioii into the theatre advertising Held. The MPA, however, would support the code if it confined itr self to furthering honest pix exploi- tation along the lines of the. associa- tion's own self-adopted ad rcgula- j linns, it was sa'tl. '■ ' | That the principles governing the j film ads as outlined by Fielding Thursday 125) at a meet of the In- dependent Theatre Owners Assn. were heading for a tempestuous re- i sired"'via the battle over the cen ceplion became apparent during the ■ op ; b iri - s ban ot the nlm . Theatre, week. The proposals which many; _ _ thealrcmen regarded as all- too: owned by the erstwhile Lucas fc sweeping would brand as undesirable ! Jenkins chain, ■ booked "Scarlet'' as and unsound: 1. false statement', e»- I joon as the film was cleared, and a'geralions or misleading titles: 2.J it's, ske'dded to open tomorrow indirect misrepresentations through I (Wednesday*. distortions of details, editorially or j picture was cleared for booking piclorially; 3. statements or sugges- : after the city failed to post a $10,000 Too Elastic License Commissioner Field- ing's proposed,' imprimatur against ad "misrepresentations" has the average exhib in a stew on the meaning .of the word. Term "misrepresentation" could be i'nlerpreted'in so many ways, exhibs claim, that, the theatre- man would never know where he stood. Pointed out that every picture is a fraud to the -extent' that it is never exactly- the same . as the original novel or play, simply because films are not made 'that way. It is recalled that some ob- jected to "Valley of Decision," despite its two-hour rurining time, because it only covered half the book.. 'Scarlet Street' Rushes Into Atlanta As Judge Overrules Censors' Ban Atlanta, April 30.' Paramount theatre here lost no time in inking advantage of the publicity given Universale "Scarlet Justice Dept. Gives Bmshoff to Hughes Washington, April 30. Howard Hughes will get nowhere if he goes . through with a threat to have the Anti-Trust Division of the Justice Department check into the MPAA action against him and his "Outlaw," it is indicated here. The division will listen to ' the complaint, of course, but spokesmen claim no action will be taken. Jus- tice Department rates MPAA as a trade association, one of whose pur- poses is to provide clean and fair censorship from within the industry itself. Both' the Justice Department and the FBI are now fighting juvenile delinquency. . At least one official has expressed' his personal opinion that "The Outlaw" Is the type of film to stimulate delinquency. tions. offensive to .public decency: 4, Unfair representations of life, habits, history and customs of all nations; S. glorification of illegal activities, too Wide. Latitude While. Fielding disavowed all in- tentions of imposing censorship, the cry. -nevertheless, was raised, in a number of quarters, a survey indi- cated. Reaction of many exliibs was that though the provisions, them- selves, set forth desirable aims, their enforcement would give too wide lat- itude to one man's opinion. The commissioner, alone, would-have the power lo say that an ad was lurid or misleading, it was pointed out. Crea- tion of such a power even though reasonably exercised by the Incum- bent' would be a dangerous prece- dent, most exliibs argued. Exhibs pointed to the growing ten- dency throughout the country, to broaden censorship piwers of. munic- ipalities. Left alone, the theatres would regulate themselves on ads since they must know that a con- sistent policy of deceiving the public would prove more damaging than otherwise, it was argiircl. Conse- quently many cxhibs maintain thai the Fielding move is in the wrong direction. Other cxhibs were inclined lo hold tlK-ir fire until the ad restrictions wen- embodied in the code in their final form. Among those who said they would wait until the provisions .were formally dialled to determine wlieC'tiM' j| 1C y would "oppose them wen; ll: riy Brandt. ITOA prez. and Oscar Doob, Locw's theatre exec. bond that Judge Bond Almand had 1 set to protect the plaintiffs against iloss. Judge set the bond for the de- : feudanls if they wished to appeal his decision. •'Street' 1 was given a. complete bill of health Wednesday (24) when Judge Ahnand,' of Fulton County Superior Court, ruled that the ac- tion of the Atlanta. Censor in pro- i hibiting the exhibition of the pic- j lure on the grounds of obscenity i was "unreasonable, arbitrary and an abuse, of discretion." I In delivering his opinion oh a bill j in equity for injunction, brought by ; Universal, distributor, and Diana j Productions, Inc. (Waller Wanger) > producer. Judge Almand declared: ' ''In view of the overwhelming evidence that the picture is not obscene or licentious or likely to affect the peace, morals {'good order of the city, [having viewed tlie picture, the court finds as a mailer of fart that the action of the censor was not jus- lined ..." Defendants In the action were ■ named as the City of Atlanta. Miss Christine Smith, the city's censor, and the Board of Censors. City sought to appeal the pre- vious ruling by Judge Almand that Miss Sjnitii lacked authority to ban any picture in its entirety, but 'could only dclcic objectionable scenes or dialogue. Failure to post the bond resulted in this part of the appeal being ignored, thus ringing i down the curtain on the court action ! involving "Scarlet Street." Hughes-MP AM May Bring Test Of PCA Legality The dust raised over the more sen-, sational features of. the Howard Hughes-Motion Picture. Assn. fracas has hidden the significance of the first legal test of the Production Code Administration, film legalites said.last week. Should the suit be' pushed to final decision, lawyers say, not only the PCA but the entire right of the industry to regulate it- self may be vitally affected by the court's-final word. Pointed out is the fact that the validity, of the PCA heretofore has never been tested un- der the Sherman anti-trust laws. The'gist of Hughes complaint that withdrawal of the seal from "The Outlaw" would bar it from 98% of domestic houses is generally con- ceded by industry attorneys. Pivotal two points which Hughes must prove to uphold his argument is that this denial of theatre outlets is both a material and unreasonable restraint ot trade. Film legalites are inclined to the belief that Hughes will come a cropper in attempting to hurdle the argument that self-censorship is necessary and reasonable. On this score, lawyers point out that the Dep't of Justice has ex- pressed the opinion . that the MPA acted within its power in creating t' e PCA. Oh-the other hand, gen- eral trade belief that the D. of J stand eliminated Ihe anti-trust facet henlth or of the fight was discounted by the and. after j lawyers. Any private litigant may ; put business practices to the mo- ' nopoly test regardless of the Gov- i eminent stand, it was said. Decision of the court is the only determining ractor, lawyers say. 'Unreasonable'? Hughes complaint shows an aware- ness of the need for overcoming the ."reasonable"' argument. The CPA is unreasonable, his complaint main- ■ tains, because it is a means of avoid- ■ ing "controversial film treatment of i subjects of social, political, economic, ; educational and public importance." : Moreover, the complaint asserts,, the : system imposes '"a private censor- ship upon the ' entire industry by 'Outlaw' Stars 'Outsize Anatomy Main Basis of MPA's Spotlight on Hughes Picture; Meantime Some Cancellations 'Outlaw' Has'Seal Difference between the in- dustry's Production Code Ad- ministration and Advertising Code Administration, both of Which are involved in the cur- rent dispute Over "The Outlaw," ■ has created. some confusion. Picture has a PCA seal granted in 1943, but the advertising does not have ACA approval, Both, agencies operate as sub- sidiaries of the Motion Picture Association (the former ''Hays of- fice). PCA, headed by Joe Brcen, is. industry's self-regulating or- ganization controlling contents of scripts and pictures. ACA, headed by Gordon' White, in New York, previews all adver- tising art and copy, stills and exploitation material. Members of the MPA. by mutual agree- ment, are supposed to use no advertising that does not have White's okay. Under the rules, an appeal can be made from decisions of Breen and White to Eric John- ston, MPA prexy. Meanwhile, the potent metropolitan branch of the American Theatres SpectOf U*S New Talent Assn. indicated approval of the „ , , T A , n , Fielding measures'and'offered to act •s liaison between the conimi.-siouer and exhibs; Recognizing the possible furore. Fielding declared that he had no in- tention of setting up a film censor- ship agency. "The motion picture in- dustry is its own -best censor." he said. "In recent years Hie industry has .made determined efforts to es- tablish 'responsibility and decency as .cardinal principles of. 'production.' These efforts arc admired and appre- ciated." The move was sparked, the coniinish said, because his depart- ment had 'received a number of com- plaints from disappointed film pa- Irn!'.-. Hughes-UA May Lease N.Y. Victoria for'Outlaw' On Self-Operating Basis Question where Howard Hughes' "Outlaw," which figures in litigation and other troubles, will land in New York may be settled shortly through a deal by UA to take over the Vic- toria. This is a City. Investing Co. property- seating 720 which Is oper- ated by Maurice Maurer with film supply from the open market. .. Reported-UA and the Hughes or- ganization is interested in leasing the Victoria for a specified period, with options, and operate the house itself rather than sell the picture on per- centage to the theatre. At present playing "A Yank in London" (20th), the Victoria.follows this up on May 10 with Par amount's "Well Groomed Bride" for an in- definite run. ■ For a time the little Victoria had tough, sledding, on product but over the past year or so has established itr self very firmly as a desirable first- run under Maurer's operation. While Maurer used to sweat for pictures on taking over the Victoria, formerly the Gaiety, a couple years ago, now his house is much sought-after by distribs with extra product they wish to roll. 'Cops Nix It in Bridgeport , Bridgeport, Conn., April 30. , "The Outlaw," skedded to open a week's run tomorrow (1) at Loew's Poli, was pulled oh order of Police Censor Joseph T. Coughlin. Latter issued the edict to Matt Saunders, house manager after screening for church representatives. Jane Russell pic was to have first Connecticut showing here. Withdrawal meant some fast moving for theatre which extended run. of current "Zlegfleld Follies" three days with "Dragon- wyck" coming in Saturday (4). Scout Under Ad Schimel '•Mike Speclor. former legit anil film talent man of N. Y.. was named head of Universul's talent depart- ment under Aflolph Schimel yester- day iTucs. >..- Speclor. who is just out of overseas service: goes to the Coast soon to confer-with Robert Mclntyre. company's casting direc- tor. Schimel is executive coordinator of talent and story for U with the studio. larney Goodkin'd. ' eastern story editor, who also had hern helping on talent-, now will devoir all his time to obtaining stories. Swedish Star in 'River' Hollywood. April 30. Viveca Lindtors. Scandinavian •l:ir recently .imported by Warners, draws "Ships in the River"' as her "'si American picture. Charles HofYmaiv will -produce,' stinting early in July. Ann Hunter* 'Television' Hollywood. April 30. ''Miss Television.'.' the first, role of ■thai title in niolion pictures, goes to Ann Hunter, who has' been sieiied i>y Coniel for the film.-Klartihg May 10 with Reginald r.cBorg as direelor. > Romantic leads in the film will be played- by Clcatus Caldwell and I David Bruce. which the defendant has assumed quasi-Governmental functions, and. has asserted police powers which may properly be exercised only by authorized Governmental agencies." The industry's self-regulatory pro- visions; were successfully .challenged on anti-trust grounds in two previ- ous instances, lawyers say. Neither '. were in any way connected with the : censorship code but both showed the : judicial approach lo the question, : according to legalites. i' Decided by Die Supreme Court in , both instances. Ihe first case, Para- mount Famous Lasky Corp. vs. U.S. tested the legality of an agreement among distributors to adhere 16 a standard contract form providing for ' compulsory arbitration. Referring to '.he fact that these distributors con- trolled 60':I- of the film business, the couri ruled the purpose of . the Agreement unreasonable in its re- si raiin of trade. In the second case, : U. S. vs. First National Pictures, an '.-understanding among distributors .'controlling 98"; <>f the films, which , set up a standard credit form in ex- hibitor., dealings was tossed out as i conflicting with Ihe anti-trust laws. Schine Daughter Elopes J. Meyer Schine, chain theatre and hotel owner, and his wife flew on a sudden trip to New York from Miami last week on learning of re- cent elopement of their daughter Doris with Dr. Morton Maxwell, a N. Y. interne. Couple, married in Southold, L. I., April 19. had been scheduled for an elaborate wedding in August, which was to take place in Schinc's Boca Raton Club (hotel) near Miami. SOPH'S FILM BI0G OPTION Philadelphia, April 30. Sophie Tucker, working at a nltery here, disclosed-this week that she has given a 60-day option on her auto- biography. "Some of" These Days," to John II. Auer. indie producer. Option period is up. around mid- June. . Deal calls for $50,000 and 10% of the profits. All proceeds of the book, including "$.58,000 already earned, are donated lo charily. Most of the sales have been'made by Miss Tucker's own plugging in clubs where she Works. San Francisco police action in . closing "The Outlaw" and producer Howard Hughes' battle with the' Motion Picture Association oyer the film has resulted in a flock of can- celled bookings. Churches and other organizations have been putting pressure on cxhibs in local.' situa- tions to keep them from playing "The Outlaw." A number of other dates, mostly in Loew houses, have been pulled because they are in states with cen- sorship boards, and the picture hasn't yet been submitted to the local o.o - ers for review, United Artists, the distributors, reported. Bookings - were tentatively made on ihe un- derstanding that approval would be gained from the censor before the dates of the .engagements. -Harry Gold, Hughes' rep, who has been handling the arrangements with the state boards, has been in Hollywood and hasn't had opportunity to pre- sent the picture to the scissor- wielders. Among bookings pulled were those of the Fried! circuit, in Minneapolis, St. Paul and Duluth. 'Holdups. of dates on the censorship angle apply in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Massa-- chusetts. Bookings' hold in Nash- ville, Houston and a number of other towns. Postpone Friday Hearing Meantime, it appeared possible that there would be a postponement of the hearing set for May 3 (Fri- day) on Hughes' request for a tem- porary injunction against the MPA to keep it from withdrawing the Production Code Administration seal from "The Outlaw." MPA is now under a restraining order from U. S. District Court Judge Vincent L. Lei- bell not to take any action against Hughes until Friday's hearing. Delay probably will be (equested by the MPA, . inasmuch as Judge Samuel Rosenmon, who will repre- sent the Association in. the court tilt with Hughes, returned to New Y«rk only Monday (29) to start studying the case. He was in San Francisco when the MPA . asked him to take it last week. While trade sympathy remains overwhelmingly with the Johnston office in the dispute, the MPA's nix of "Outlaw" ads, which sparked the. fracas, has turned the spotlight on film advertising in general/ As a result, there has been some eye- brow-raising at recent art on "Gilda" . (Col), "Kitty" (Par) and "Scarlet Street" (U). Hughes' attorney, for- mer New York governor. Col. Charles Polettl, is expected to pro- duce some of these ads in court in an effort to show discrimination, Johnston office spokesman admit- ted that the line of demarcation was very fine and open to interpreta- ■• tion: Office, he said, did not attempt to act as a censor, but its aim, rath- er, was to forestoll advertising that would react unfavorably on the In- dustry as a whole. Anything that was allowed to pass, therefore, was felt not to fall in that category, he said. ■ '"The Outlaw,' campaign differs from the others." MPAltes asserted, "because it is the only one based entirely on nothing but the star's outsize anatomy." S. F. Trial May IS San Francisco, April 30. Jury trial, demanded by Howard Hughes following police confisca- tion of a print of "The Outlaw" here last week and closing of the United Artists theatre, where the film was showing, has been set for May 15 in municipal court. Judge Twain Michelsen will preside. Writ to prevent police from halt- ing the showing of the film before trial, for which Hughes had peti- tioned, was denied. J. W. "Jake" Erlich, legal aide in S. F. of jerry' Giesler. w.kl Holly? wood attorney, will represent' Hughes and Al Dunn, theatre man- ager, in the trial, which is to decide whether "The Outlaw" is "indecent," as charged by the police. 'Sage' Film Announced Hollywood, April 30. "Song of the Sage" is the. third ot a series of four musical westerns. Colbert Clark will produce for Co- lumbia. Ken Curtis and the Hoosler Hot- shots have been signed for the four tuneful oatera.