Variety (May 1946)

Wednesday, May 8, 1946 PICTURES DISTRIBS MAY SHARE EXCHANGES US-French Film Snafu Indicates Anew Biz Must Sell Itself to D.C . Washington, May 7. Insiders here say the picture ex- ooi't situation Is bound to worsen steadily unless the Mm industry, it- self, forces a firm policy on the State Department. . Despite all that has been written and.stated publicly .about the State Department's policy concerning the export of our films, the fact is that this Bureau has no film policy other than that it does not want Holly- wood to export pictures which are injurious to the nation's prestige. -The industry must make the policy for the State Department, and sell it lo the Department," one man. explained. "What we want to know is what Eric Johnston and others are going to do." Such trade policy as State Department has, has been made by men imported to work in Washington during the War. These people arc gradually leaving here, and turning back, the State Depart- ment to the striped-pants diplomats who never worried about pictures before the war and who don't know much about the industry yet. In the pre-war years, Will Hays was a frequent visitor at the De- partment, pressing for help for in- dustry overseas and ■ suggesting specific assistance to be given. It is pointed out now that such people as Johnston and Donald Nelson must take over the chore and should come forward with a concrete program. The recent statement of Assistant Secretary ot State William Benton that pictures were important and deserve all. the assistance the De- partment can give them has gener- ally been interpreted in industry circles to mean that State was going all out to fight the battle of Holly- wood in foreign parts. However, the insiders point out that this is not policy. Benton's job is culture and information. His division has noth- ing to do with commercial motion pictures. Situation has been brought to a head in Washington by the snafued French situation. Despite their promises, the French brought ho .-technical men with their loan mis- sion who would sit down and discuss the export headache. They want any such negotiations to be con- ducted in Paris. Our people want . them held in the U. S. Johnston has declared emphatically to Will. Clay- ton, Assistant Secretary of State in charge of economic policy, that the picture deal should be tied up closely with the loan to prevent the French from pulling a fast 6~nc. It is not fully determined yet, how far this will be done. Here is one typical situation, ac- cording to the insiders, in which the industry should move in fast and hard and sell the type of policy it wants to the State Department. So what Hollywood and the New York execs have . failed to understand clearly, it is pointed out, is this: in this country motion pictures are merely commerce. In the export market, they are a combination of commerce, politics and culture. Any policy that the industry draws up must be based on an understanding of that .fact. WeDes' Cot Chore Hollywood, May 7. Orson Welles has. been signed by Columbia to direct and act in an untitled original. He will start pro- duction of film as soon as he finishes with his current legit show, "Around The World," on Broadway. Previous reports had Welles di- recting an American remake of the Russian film, "They. Met In Moscow," which Columbia supposedly was planning as a Rita Hayworth starrer, but denied, Take Proposed PhiOy 10% Tap To the Public LOEW'S $8,952,067 FOR 28 WEEKS, TOPS LAST YR. Not profits of $8,952,067 after Fed- eral taxes has been reported by Loew'.v for the 28 weeks ended March 14. subject to year-end. audit. Figure compares with §6,768.409 for the same period in '45. , P'ofit is equivalent lo $1.76 per share of common stock as against ,?1.34 earned a year ago. Stieger N.Y; Story Rep For Bernhard-Sperling Joseph Bcrnhard, .United States Pictures prcxy, has named Paul atrcger story and play representn- Philadelphia, May 7. Leaders of the amusement indus- try in Philly yesterday launched an all-out campaign to defeat a pro- posal now being considered, by City Council which would raise the pres- ent 4% city amusement tax to 10%. Spearheading the drive is the film industry which will can upon the public to protest the impending measure which Council is banking on to help raise additional revenue to increase wages of city employees. Trailers, lobby displays, billboards will call upon theatregoers to take part ia the campaign. Postcards will be distributed in theatres to bombard cOuncilmen with protests. Petitions will be circulated. A committee has been formed, in- cluding representatives of film.and legit theatres. Headed by Morris Wax, a member of the board of Gov- ernors of the Allied Theatre Own- ers of Eastern Pennsylvania, it in- cludes the following: Ben Fertel, Leo Pose'l and Joseph Conway, all. of Allied; Ted Schlan- gcr. zone manager of the Warner cir- cuit: Lcwen Pizor, prc&ident' of the Uiiiled Motion Picture Theatre Op- erators: Abe Sablowsky, v.p. of UMPTO: Samuel Shapiro and Mar- tin B. Ellis', independent exhibs; Jay Emanuel, exhib and publisher of the Exhibitor, and Lawrence Shu- bert Lawrence, general manager of the Shubert theatres here. At yesterday's meeting, the pro- posed tax hike was declared "dis- criminatory" by chairman Wax. who .pointed out that the theatrogoing public was already paying 24% in taxes on every admission. Wax claimed that when the pres- ent 4% amusement tax went into effect in 1930. the City Administra- tion promised that it would be an emergency measure which would be repealed after four years. The ad- ministration, said Wax, asked the theatre interests not to make any protests and on the basis of its promise, the theatre industry took the 4% levy "lying down." "We have been assured the sup- port of organized labor in this fight,'' Wax declared, "and we intend to go on fighting until this discriminatory tax is killed for good. "Failure of the City Administra- tion to fulfill its promise made 10 years ago to repeal this tax has caused Philadelphia theatregoers to carry an unfair burden all these years. . Imposition of this proposed increase more, than doubles that i burden." I Night club operators arc also join- ing the fight. A similar campaign is being planned by local hotel op- erators, since Council is also plan- ning to, impose a 10'; levy on hotel rooms rented to transients. L HANDLING QF PIX Next major operational move by the industry, it is predicted, will be the banding, together of all distrib- uting companies for the physical handling of their prints through joint exchanges in key cities. Only thing that may sour the plan, which other- wise is a certainty eventually, distri- bution, execs say, will be union op- position. Culmination of the idea for joint exchange centers must wait, of course, the return of building con- ditions to normal since, in most cities, a structure especially designed for the purpose would have to be erect- ed. Trend in the direction of the common product handling is seen in moves by Samuel Goldwyn and United World Pictures recently. Goldwyn, planning a distributing outfit of his own, is talking deals' with Republic and other companies for handling of his prints. His branch, offices would only be for the purpose of Bales 'and accounting. Exactly the same thing , is being done by ITWP- Half-owned by Universal, it will use U's distributing facilities, but set up its own sales and account- ing offices. Current shortage of office space, of course, has encouraged Goldwyn and (Continued on page 18) Government Fib Distrib Stalled Distribution of Government films has been stalled for ihe past three weeks by the unexplained withhold- ing of a 'Presidential letter directing all Federal agencies to funnel their films through Arch Mercey, Gov- ernment liaison officer with the mo- tion picture industry. With Mercey's hands tied, theatre organizations are shying away from direct deals with a multitude of Government agencies interested in pushing their own films. Supposedly, President Tru- man's letter was to have been cir- cularized simultaneously with Mer- "cey's appointment in mid-April to the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion. Meanwhile, exhib groups are pressing a plan which calls for set- ting up a priority system for Gov- ernment-sponsored pictures. Idea which Mercey has agreed to mull would give his department the duties of rating films submitted by the agencies. Plx would be scaled according to importance and urgency with only a few tagged as "must" for wide distribution. r MONTAGUE, SPINGOLD EAST i Hollywood.. May 7.. ; Abe Montague, sales boss, and th.«l„ m ' ",, "'.'- Nate Spingold. home office v.p. for „' " New York for the Bcrnhard-.! Columbia Constellation lo New York aliening unit, which produces for ; locla y. (Tues.). wamer Bros, release. I. They have been at the Isludio for Strcgcr formerly headed the'Le- over two weeks conferring on prod- land Hayward play department in ucl plans and release campaigns for New York. | the new season. LYONS' 'SUBTERFUGE' CHARGE VS. MISS BALL Hollywood, May 7. Arbitration proceedings have been instituted before the Screen Actors Guild by the A. & S. Lyons agency against Lucille Ball, charging actress with "subterfuge" and attempting to violate her agency, contract;; Bentlcy Ryan, attorney and spokesman for the agency, cx- > plained: "Late last year Miss Ball j was dropped by Metro, and shortly ! after she freelanced at 20th-Fox. j Around 60 days after her agency ; contract with A. A S. Lyons .expired on Jan. 11, 1946. Miss Ball .was signed to a new contract by Metro. This is a unique case, as far as ar- bitration is concerned. We charge that Miss Ball made an oral com- mitment with Metro at the time she dropped out there foi» the express- purpose of defeating her agency contract. We further claim that the oral commitment, given during, the life of her agency contract, is equal in fact as if she would have actually signed." SAG is expected to appoint an ar- bitration board to hear the case. Board will then decide whether the agency is entitled to commissions on the contract for a seven-year term. ATA s 30 Meets This Year Will Be to Recruit Small Indies Wanger Sets 5 Films Hollywood, May 7. Walter Wanger announced five top-budget pictures to be produced through his own indie; unit and Diana Pictures, in which he Col- laborates with Fritz Lang. Wanger pictures are "Smashup," "If I Loved You" and "The Ballad and - the Source." Diana produc- tions are "The Secret Beyond the Door" and "Winchester '73." 20th-Fox s Peak Net Profit For 1945-^12,746,467 Peak net profit of $12,746,467 was scored by 20th-Fox and its sub- sidiaries during the lush year of 1949 in a small gain over the pre- vious all-time top of $12,480,491 in '44, annual, report of 20th disclosed. Combined gross take of the company reached $185,672,542, topping all past performances. Net - profit earned $5.29 per share on a total of 2,119,- 709 common outstanding after divi- dend payments on preferred and convertible stocks, the report said. Total compensation of chief execs was tabbed at $260,000 for Darryl F. Zanuck, veepce in charge of produc- tion; $255,273 for Spyros P. Skouras, prcz; $114,783 for William C. Michel, exec veepec; $110,350 for Tom Con- nors, v.p. in charge of sales; $84,950 for Murray Silverstone, v.p.; $78,500 for Joseph Moskowitz, v.p., and $57,- 250 for Donald A. Henderson, treas. Skouras received an added $43,108 from National Theatres under its re- tirement plan. Company's net profit for the last quarter of '45 was $5,217,180 against $2,095,927 for the third quarter and $2,992,562 for the fourth quarter of "'44. Estimated federal income taxes totaled $21,650,000 in the past year, the report said.' Total assets for the combined companies at the close of the year was figured at $148,983,268 with the parent company's holdings set at $94,830,983 including cash of $32,274,214 and Government securi- ties of $12,882,101. Annual stockholders meet is slated for May 21 with election of the com-, pany's 15 directors as the chief busi- ness oh the agenda. Proposed re- tirement plan drafted by the board will come up for stockholder action. The Motion Picture Ass'n received $303,513 in dues from 20th during '45, according to the report. Theatre checking nut was tops in special ex- penses with 20th handing out $776,- 420 to Ross Federal and $57,510 to its successor. Confidential Reports. D.wight, Harris. Kocgcl & Caskcy, legalities, came in for $241,500 In fees. Annual dues to the American Arbitration Ass'n amounted to $52,- 822. Under the proposed pension plan, it was revealed, Zanuck would be in for top figure with his annuities run- ning at $17,170 on his retirement at 65. Moskowitz with $15,715 annually and Michel with $13,820 would re- ceive the next highest sums. The plan eliminates all salary in excess of $50,000 yearly in computing the pensions. 50% YET TO GO IN N.Y. UJA'S $1,000,000 GOAL Billy Rose, chairman of the N. Y. show biz committee in behalf of the United Jewish Appeal's $100,000,000 campaign for the relief and rehabili- tation of European refugees, collect- ed $501,000 from an assemblage of 98 showbusiness notables at a lunch- con last wcok. Rose has set a goal of $1,000,000 for N. Y. show, business' part in the ' drive. Other luncheons are being planned to effect the remaining half- i million. In hiked recruiting drive for the small indie exhibitor, whose enlist- ment shapes up as top organizational goal, the newly formed American Theatre Ass'n is currently slating a minimum of 30 sponsored regional meets during the year on a country* wide basis. Substantial boost in planned conclaves is behind the ac- tion of ATA's financial committee last week which raised, the planned 1946 expenditures of the theatre group from $100,000 to close to double that amount. Regionals will be either directly called by the national hq of ATA or by local exhib outfits with ATA backing, presumably financial and otherwise. Locale of huddles will be so fixed that rural theatre operators with little cash to spend on travel- ing can attend one or another of the meets without too much ex- pense. Policy set is for blanket in- vitations to all exhibs in the terri- tory to attend regardless of affilia- tion. At most of the 30 or more huddles a top rep of the national chapter will beat the enlistment drums. Main burden along these lines, will be shouldered by Si Fabian, ATA prez; Ted Gamble, board chairman; and Robert Coyne, executive director. Five Confabs Set Schedule of five meets have al- ready been set for the next 30 days. First on the agenda was staged Monday (6) at Memphis for the Tennessee area. Gamble and Coyne took the spot to sell ATA's aims. Other huddles deBnitely slated are at Little Rock, May 26-27; Dallas, May .29; Jacksonville, June 1^; and Salt Lake City, June 4. Financial committee nixed a pro- posal to borrow funds for the first four months' operations after being told that New York and a number of other well-organized territories could meet their assessments forth- with. Assessments will be fixed to raise approximately $200,000 in '46, with New York's nut set at $30,000. . Allocations will be broken down by states but otherwise handled similarly to the method used by the War Activities Committee. Popula- tion and distributor figures will be basis of assessing the states, the committee ruled. Previous $100,000 annual figure had been fixed by ATA's St. Louis convention last month. 20th Pays $150,000 For Yerby's Pre-1861 Novel Price paid last week by 20th-Fox for screen rights to Frank Yerby's novel, "The Foxes of Harrow," was $150,000. It was a straight deal, with no sliding scale provision, the book having been on the best-seller list since it was published by Dial three months ago. Sale of the story of the pre-Civil War south was one of the biggest deals of this type in months. Author is repped by Helen Strauss of the William Morris office. Sears Follows Pickford Home, Gould in Next Wk. Grad Sears, United Artists' dis- tribution chief, is expected back in New York today (Wednesday) or tomorrow after more than a month in Europe. He and Mrs. Scars are coming here by ship directly from Stockholm. Mary Pickford, one-third owner of UA, who accompanied Sears and foreign manager Walter Gould abroad, returned to New York, Sun- day (5) by plane. She'll be cast about a week before going back to the Coast. Gould had further business to transact in Europe and will spend- another week in Paris and' Rome. He'll return to the U.. S. by air next week. ANNETTE KEILEEMAN BACK Annette Kcllcrman and her hus- band returned from Australia on the brides and babies boat, Mariposa, arriving at San Francisco. . Miss Kcllcrman staged, a show on the way over, with brides as talent.