Variety (May 1946)

PICTURES UAkmett Wednesday, May 8, 1946 Film Salesmen Check Checkers In a move that amounts lo.chcck- 5nu the checkers, one of live major ii'm companies has instructed the. salesmen or its. New York exchange to iurn in the, names of exhibitor ac- c-ninis which they believe niiiy l<e vh< Ming on percentage engagements. While no explanation is given for 20th-Fox Scores Point ! In'Lifeboat* Story Suit Legal, point was scored yesterday i7) by 20th>Fox, defendant in a plagiarism suit brought by Sidney Easlon. when an application by 20lh to dismiss the action forced the plaintiff to clarify his bill of par- ticular:;. Easton also conceded that his amended complaint made no claim to new material in his revised version of his play, "Lifeboat No. 13" ' V . Easlon is suing for an injunction restraining exhibition of the de- fendant's film "Lifeboat."accounting tliis unusual step, presumption is that .since the average salesman isjof profits and damages. ■ Plaintiff in a pretty good position.'.to know I contends that the film is a piracy oil whether an exhib is giving an honest j the play count such leads may be used .for ) pic company. comparison with figures turned in by } • —i— ■ 11k- checkers. At the same limV this j i l| . If' 'I. |mj information may be used, as a check ; UlOlcS IlCSISuIUJ against the checkers, just in case tin: latter arc in conspiracy with ex- liiiis on figures, as has been not un- k"i»vn in the past. In one case not long ago a sales- man who was having trouble' with i,n independent account got skeptical n\cr the ligures lie reported on pie- lures, witli conl inuous hounding for Expect Over 300 For Variety Conv. More than 300 members of the Va- riety Clubs are expected in N. Y. for the organization's annual , con- vention, slated ■ to tee olT. next Wednesday (15). at the Hotel Astor. Meet will be highlighted by the Humanitarian Awards dinner on Saturday i 18) night, at which time Gen. Evangeline Booth, retired head of the Salvation Army, will be feted ax the, individual who has made the Edwin P.- kiiroe"reps' lhe>J* osl oul.standing humanitarian con- tribution. Inside Stuff—Pictures American films arc coming under'heavy Are. in the Union of South Africa for glorifying gangsters and appealing to sensational tendencies ot j the young. Under pressure of the National Council of Women, the Somh ■ African Ministry of the Interior is giving attention to certain types of American films in its role as final arbiter of "questionable standards." The unique racial composition of the country has given a special twist to the demands tor film censorship. With 2.000,000 whites dominant. over 8.000,000 of other color, censors are cutting out closeups of bathing parades and beauty contests or earmarking them "for whites only." Several films have been banned completely including "Tiger Woman," "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" and "The'Mummy's Curse."' 'Collect'Charges On Unplayed Pix Minneapolis'. May 7. Max Torodor. owner of the Ritz. local nabc, relinquished possession of " First day of the convent ion will-be given over to a general business ses- sion. ..New officers, elected on Thursday .< 16), will meet on Friday to line up the organization's plans for the forthcoming year. Planning. Committees will also convene on Friday, to go over the plans with the new .officers. Tickets . l*o r i h e Humanitarian Awards dinner will be $10 each, with except for Weinslock, The Lost Weekend" print Which | attendance strictly stag adjustments, and went to some Iron-! he had refused to surrender after | the dais guesU Dave blc to personally check the exhibi-.ihe claims that he was billed collect "cad of the Rayb^nd circuit in N. Y., L.r's house, lie found that the house \ for other pictures along with it. S. 1 in charge of ticket arrangements: in question was cheating heavily, i P. Halpern. Torodor's attorney, as- i Si Fabian is chairman of the ban- One of the majors now has as serted that .the print was returned j ouet'committee. to Paramount after the latter had | majors MiMill group of floating checkers of their own who go into various [agreed to •'settle'.' the controversy, b anch territories, unknown even 'to'The pictures billed collect. Were the local exchaiuie manager, not only j those not yet dated by Torodor.. to check on the checkers but also on | Torodor's action m retaining the company's own people who. may be. i print is in line with a determination inclined to let exhibs gel away with | by local independent exhibitors to wrong 'llgui'es, PUTTING NEW PK-AFM Pending determination of an appeal by Film Classics from a recent dp. cision. by Federal Judge John C: Knox which cancelled worldwide dis- tribution rights to the reissued film.'''Topper", the Hal Roach studio is stopped from claiming rights to- the film. £C recently satisfied court judg- ment directing. payment^tb'.Roach of $36,987, claimed withheld; The appeal is only from the termination of the contract and from the court's dismissal of counterclaims by FC Tor money paid to Roach for exhibition of "Topper" subsequently to July 20, 1944, the date of the con- tract between the parties. Case will be argued in the U. S. Circuit Court, of Appeals next month. March of Time's forthcoming release "Tomorrow's Mexico", gives U. S. tourists terrific dunk in venom. Pointing out that this summer should be the biggest'in history tor below-the-border travelers, MOT -states.AmcrU can tourists will repeat their customary performance of visiting a Inr- eign country without ever actually seeing,' understanding or appreciating it. Giving a backhapded plug.to Ciro's and other niteries in. Mexico City, reel states that they'll no doubt be mobbed by U. S. tourists. After the lengthy, criticism of American travelers, MOT goes into a reprise of Mex .liistory and a forecast for the future. Reported that in 6ue resist the practice of rtlm exchanges lcan case these secret floating checkers even caught a branch manager who •was in on the take with an exhib w ho was cheating. Automatic Hot Dogs May Mean Restaurant Licenses for Theatres to bill them-collect on delivery for pictures other than the one deliv- ered. A court .action involving the ! issue is now pending, Frank Woskie, owner of another neighborhood [house here, having filed a damage Nate Spingold. Columbia Pictures veepee. was scheduled to get .in from the Coast last night (Tu.es.) on the Constellation, after extending his'4'lolly. j wood visit in.order to see a cut 'version of the Al Jolson biography over CONTRACT INTO SHAPFl' IncidentalI y- the studio denies that the next Rita Hayworth starrer will Vyi1.inaVI.'ilTiy,llUIU It ^ a Russian musical remake of "They Met m Moscow" or that Orson Producer committee in charge. of | Welles and Don Harlman. will direct or produce. - Other than that her i placing the contract with the Amer- [ film's locale is in Mexico, no details are set yet. . Virginia Van Upp is Federation of Musicians in working on the. scripting and she may wind up producing it. shape to be turned over to company j attorneys for final drafting will 1 probably finish that chore today ; x Wednesday) .•. I Meanwhile, delays have been caused by an acute sinus attack jaceepTammand ? ?Wea^ortKr^ S%S i*- labor '. n*«e* Committee has the picture was booked. suit against Universal. Rather than Adding their corporate gifts to Spyros Skouras on the 20lh-Fox prexy.'s 53d birthday, six of the majors donated' almost an additional $2,000 to Greek war relief! This whs the surplus from the surprise birthday luncheon given in his honor al the Sherry-Netherlands. N. Y., April 26. Since the fete cost'was only about $1,000. the majors decided to add the rest of a preliminary $3,000 expense pool lo ; the $53,000 that industry leaders had given Skouras for him to turn over to Greek war relief, which he heads in America. ~ been holding meetings in his hotel suite as a result. When contract is ready for the attorneys. Meyer, as well as Charles Boren. in charge of labor relations at the Paramount THEATRE OVERBUILDING tudio and MiUon schwa,*wa.d. JOE FRANKLIN FEARS - Chicago. May 7. Theatres are going to have to start 1; ':ing out restaurant licenses if this kc-ps up. A Chi manufacturing company. | Government building restrictions : R .dio Chef, .Inc.. is now turning : and the materials shortage are the out a "speedy ' weenie" dispensing ! best things that could happen to : infichine that cooks a redhot and j showbusincss. according to Joe. pops it out at the customer in 20 Franklin, . head of the Franklin-! seconds Hat— all wrapped in cello- Hc'rsehhorn iCanadinm theatre eir-' p'nanc and ready to eat. complete . cuit. who sees a danger in . over- with roll but sans mustard and building on the basis_.of the current piccalilly.. which the diiicr. applies ; abnormal prosperity. Much of the in taste. There arc bowls on the 1 current boom at the boxoffice is the side for the seasonings. ! result, of temporary scarcities'in the j Company's pre/.' is Maurice Price , consumer market and. in Franklin's ; of N. Y.. a nephew of theatrical . opinion, showbusincss will weather i ! general manager of the music de- partment at Universal, will return to the Coast. Deal reached with the AFM union : by eight Hollywood studios two weeks ago calls for an . average in- crease of 25'! from April 1 last to Sept.-l. 1948; Purchase by Metro of screen rights 10 Frederic Wakeman's novel, "The Hucksters.'' is full of unusual angles. One of them- is that .if the author does not arrange for a legit production within 18 months, Metro gets the stage rights without any additional payment. Other angles include Wakeman's payoff being spread over a seven-year period (originally reported to be a 10-year stretch). At the end of that' time. Metro has the option ot buying the screen privileges outright for $2,500. ' ' Dimout Conl inucd from pace 4 producer A) Woods. Harry Warner— jio relation to Warner'Bros.—of-Sail Francisco is the inventor, and Bill Mackcirresh. Chi industrial engi- neer, designed the cabinet, a gaudy affair not unlike present pop and candy dispensers. Outfit, whose distribution head- quarters is in K. Y. and factory in Chi. plans selling the machine not only to theatres but. to ballparks, racetracks.. bowling alleys, taverns, factories. pno,lrooms., -gas stations, ballrooms, etc. The hotdogs cost 15c retail. There are lfi test machines now. which Price is showing to prospective buvers aroun H ;*>c coun- try. the storm a lot better this time than after the last war. precisely because it's being prevented from going on a building'spree. ; Franklin passed through New York en route from Miami Beach to f future bookings Canada where showbusiness' is en- I Chile" Robinson joying peak business paralleling the situation in this country. Showman , winters in Florida annually for his health. | . Daylight saving lime in the east is gumming lip schedules of film pro- | ductions in which radio performers appear. Shooting slates on two pic- tures at 20th-Fox have been revamped to accommodate the radio activi- ties of Perry Como, Harry .Tames and Dick Haymes. all of whom have to knock off picture work an hour earlier on days when they are sched- uled to appear before the mike. Como aiid James, are working in "You're For Me" and Haymes in "Carnival in Costa Rica." Embezzlement Charge In Texas Exhib's Estate and shut down all theatres further notice. B&K officials are presently hold- ing conferences trying to iron out the headache of what to do about of Frankie "Sugar on May 10. Frank Sinatra on May 17 (The Voice was inked into the Chicago theatre on a $25,000 guarantee, plus 50*; of the lake over $60,000). and later book- ings of Hildegarde and Freddie Mai; Jaeger's Fluffs Continued from page 1 ; use material Greene-Schaefer tin's orch. B&K execs evidently fig- ago for rights to use material from .[Don McNeill's "Breakfast Club" [show, indicating that top ABC execs | knew about his pending resignation ias far back as then. I Albums, containing what Jaeger pterms a "hitherto untapped enter- I tainment avenue." will contain ma- terial mostly from the audience par- ('onllnuea' from in his indie financing ... ,. ., . - , - i ticipalion shows, in which the guests tired they cou dn t pay such top- e ■ flight acts on the take from four | ^ dup | ici „ ec |. Besides 1 "Breakfast Club." deals have already flew in from N. Y. to ' been set with "Breakfast in Hnlly. Houston. May 7. Search is under way by police for •Tack Wilson Grant, auditor, for the Will Horwitz Estate. Inc., when a shortage of $33,000 was found in the Drill! Tlln Ullllfirn estate's funds. A charge of embez- rtWK 1 HtA. IVlANAbfcK ' zle " 1,,|lt has been ^ against Grant. Grant has been working- since 1936 IRATE PATRON BEATS UP on hours a day. Mike Todd lake personal charge of keeping "Up in Central Park" going at the SIuit bert. Using everything from old au- tomobile motors, household electric < wood", and "Bride and Groom." with Jaeger aiming eventually for all major network shows. New company is a . partnership Pittsburgh. May 7. Frank Murphy, manager of the Penn. was beaten up Hie.other night by an hale patron and had to be treated at the Allegheny General Hospital for a compound fracture ot the nose. His al lacker, Harry John- Miii.' 50. 'of nearby Donora. was' 'ar- rested on a charge of assault and battery, and held for court by Magis- trate William H. McDiarnu'd. Testifying that Johnson had been boisterous ;.nd had been refunded his money when asked to leave. Murphy said Johnson wheeled around when they reached the lobby and started punching'him: The trouble started originally when Juhnsbn said he had "climbed a lot'of steps" to find a neat only to llnd there wasn't' an empty one in the house. with the estate'and was hired by the late Will Horwilz.. pioneer theatre owner. It was estimated that loss may run to S50.000 following a com- plete check of the accounts. Grant had been voted a promotion from auditor to secretary-treasurer of the estate several hours prior-to the time the shortage was-discov- ered. A nationwide jjcarch is now under wav for him. Liz Taylor Into 'Spindle' llOSSEU'S FIBST '0'GLOCK' Hollywood. May 7. . Robert Rosscn, former legit play- wright a'nd director draws his first film director chore in 6'Clock." myslery yarn Dick Powell. rent Saturday afternoon, but had to resort to generator or makeshift power for the evening performance: Generators gave a . good perform- ance, and little difference in lighting was noticeable. Civic Opera House's plans to go ahead with a week's run of the Metropolitan Opera Co. hit a tem- porary snag wteii the Maritime Com- Holjywood. May 7. mission boat. "Mainsheet Eye." Elizabeth Taylor. Metro moppet chartered to furnish'power from its star, draws the star spot in "The ; diesel engine to the stage.was tossed Spindle Age." a'story of youth to .-around in the. Chicago river by a be produced by Ralph Wheelwright, gust of wind Sunday (5), causing Currently Wheelwright is produc- $12,000 damage to the Chicago Daily ing "10th Avenue Angel." with Mar- News building and the Opera House. It's under control now and the Met I will have light, but the curtains-and i backdrop on the stage will be han'd- ' operated. While most of Chicago's film generators. 10c dishpans and two < deal between Jaeger and John Mas tired characters on the turning end . terson, producer of "Breakfast in of.cranks. George Sallhouse. Shubert ! Hollywood."With Jaeger holding a electrician, scraped together enough majority; interest. Processing and juice for a legible performance the ; manufacturing of the records will be first night ot the dimout. done on the Coast by Universal Legit shows operated on city cur- ' Records and.. in the east by the | George Clark Co. of Newark. Jaeg- er has already lined up a mass dis- tribution, sales and. promotion . cam- paign for the albums. gare.t O'Brien in the [op role. .Picture will be produced under 1h.' JEM banner for Columbia re- lease. GG GOES FOR H0UNDIE Hollywood. May 7. Golden Gate Pictures will increase Tohniiy I the number of canine pictures on the starring scieeii with "My Dog Shep." slated as the company's third' production houses were idle, outdoor-attractions BOTH U AND RKO SALES MEETS AT WALDORF, N.Y. Resuming their national conven- tions for the first time since the war ended, "RKO : and . Universal have picked New York and the Waldorf- Astoria hotel for the annual sales meetings this year. RKO holds its convention. July 1-3. at the Waldorf, with principal salesmen as well as district and branch managers at- tending. U's convention will be at the same hotel the . last week In June, with associates project. ■ | Greene asserted that the only rnh*. : nection he would have with Equity I was if Schaefer offered him a deal for providing coin for a particular picture. He said he would limit him- self to handling deals for secondary ■ money, completion bonds, residuals and deferments. Reports some months ago that Greene was selling his interest in Domestic Industries. Inc... through which he has operated in the past, and that lie would move to HoII>t wood, led to speculation he was go- ing into production on his own. On that *core he declared Monday: "Tin not a producer* and 1 never intend to be. I'll.handle no stories, players ■ or any other aspect of production." j He said he would resign shortly »• ' prez of Domestic Industries, but rer : main a director. for a short lime. ! After that, he declared, he. would ' operate entirely with his own coin and . banking connections and solely as an individual. . Schaefer Baek U Coast George J. SOhaerer. who was in New York during the past week, planed back to the Coast Sunday i5).. He expects to spend a' large part of his time In Hollywood oit making deals with .indie producers for financing of their pictures by his Equity Capital Corp. He ll con- tinue to maintain a New York of- fice, however, Schaefer was east Ip huddle with financial sources which are putting tip the $20,000,000 capitalization of Equity. \ for this scasoi: William B. David will produce,' Willi WilMam Rowland as director. cleaned up. A record crowd of June 24-26 as tentative dates. John 45.000 attended the. Cubs-Philly game Joseph. corapanys ad-publicity at Wrigley. field, golf -courses were chief, was in N. Y. last week huddl-' jammed and everyone of Chi's 1.500 ing on details. He returned to the Middle horses had a busy day. i Coast over the weekend. EX-MUGG TO C0I. Hollywood, May -7. Archie Herzoff. for 15 years an exec , of the Balaban Kalz pub- licity-advertising department in Chi- cago, has joined Columbia's flaekery. si udie