Variety (May 1946)

Wednesday, May 22, 1946 7 Eff PICTURES $20,000,000 GYP ON DEALS M-G Hoping RR Strike Won't Snafu Its Sales Convention in Chicago This Week With Metro's first all-embracing <• sales meet since before the war slated to tee off Friday (24) in Chi- cago, M-G execs are presently cross- ing their Angers with hopes that the current railroad strike will be amicably settled before the train union's deadline tomorrow (Thurs- day). Thirty h.o. execs scheduled to attend the meeting, together with delegations from Albany, Buffalo, Philadelphia and New Haven, had all planned to take the same train. Calling of the strike will put the .kibosh on the entire meet Since there has been no general sales meeting for more than five years, William F. Rodgers, Metro's general salesmanager, has decided that if the strike forces cancellation of the meet, it will be held at the first opportunity, possibly some time next month. Rodgers was slated to fly to Chicago today (Wednesday) to lay the groundwork of the conven- tion; Hotel situation in Chicago is also working against Metro. Meet was originally to have been held at the Stevens, but it was learned later that the hotel's convention auditorium was not large enough to accommo- date the 75 h.o. execs, division, dis- trict and branch managers expected to attend. Meet was therefore moved to the Drake. Following the decision to extend the meet to five days from its original four, it was learned that the Drake was already booked solidly lor the fifth day. En- tire group, therefore, will have to pack its luggage and move over to the Sherman for the final sessions. Latter will be devoted to individual meetings among the five sales- managers with their district and branch managers. Rodgers is expected to. outline Metro sales policy for the forthcom- . Ing year's product at the meet. He'll discuss the 12 new pictures he saw during, his . recent trip to the Coast and line up the advertising and pro- motion policy for them along with the Metro publicity and exploitation departments. Rodgers is also ex- pected to announce the next block of M-G pictures, plus two specials that will be sold individually for summer release. Howard Dietz, Metro ad-publicity chief who's presently on the Coast with M-G prexy Nicholas M. Schenck, will try to get to Chicago for the meet. If he can't make it, Si Seadler, advertising director, will fill in. William R Ferguson, exploi- tation, chief, will outline the 90 dif- ferent exploitation' services metro offers to exhibs. Arthur M. Loew, prexy of Loew's International, will discuss the foreign pix his company is importing as regular Metro re- leases and H. M. Richey will talk over exhib relations. Joseph R. Vogel, Loew's veepee in charge of theatre operations, Is also slated to speak. Since the testimonial dinner for Jack Kirsch, head of Allied States Theatres, will also be held in Chi- cago, Friday, it's expected that most of the Metro delegates will attend. Gable Nixes Hucksters' Hollywood, May 21. Clark Gable turned down the top role in "The Hucksters," Frederic Wakeman's tale of advertising agen- cies in the radio industry. Metro bought the book with Gable in mind, but the star read it and said it was not'-for him. 'Henry'OK for 10 Boston Weeks; Big N.Y. Advance With "Henry V" set to run three more weeks at the Esquire, Boston, United Artists estimates its profits will be almost $75,000 on the 10- week run. British-made Technicolor Shakespearean epic is continuing relatively strong biz, getting around $10,000 this week, its seventh. House operation costs UA about $3,000 a week. Meantime, almost $20,000 in ad- vance sales, at a $2.40 top, have been Piled up at the City Center, N. Y. Film opens there June 17. House was forced to add another boxofflce man Monday (20) to keep up with mail sale. Next date is the Laurel, 800-seater, in Los Angeles, June 14. It will fol- low the roadshow, twb-a-day, re- served-seat policy set up by UA. Dates are now being sought for Chicago, San Francisco and Wash- ington. Would Test N.Y. Theatre Padlock Legal test of New York License Commissioner Benjamin Fielding's right to summarily shutter a theatre for violating obscenity laws may be sought by ithe American Civil Liberties Union. Claiming that Fielding acted arbitrarily and with out power in suspending the Miami heatre's license last week, ACLU of flcials said that they would file suit providing Benjamin Brodie, Miami operator, consented. The ACLU punctuated its stand by sending the commish a telegram protesting his action as "constituting censorship' and demanding that Fielding seek a jury determination of the issue in a criminal prosecution: ACLU wire was also signed by Elmer Rice as chairman of the Na- tional Council on Freedom from Censorship. Test will be made, it was said, because N. Y. City ord- nances give no specific right of rev- ocation to Fielding on indecency grounds. ACLU legalites maintain that a theatre license suspension can only follow a conviction by jury for violation of the obscenity laws. Fielding's action, according to these attorneys, would be akin lp the pad- locking of a bookstore because of the sale of one indecent novel. ' House was shuttered indefinitely following an almost accidental discovery that the house . was screening a film doctored with "hot shoots." Dept. inspectors visited the theatre to give it the o.o. because of previous complaints that degenerates congregated there. While at the house, the pic, "Guilty Parents," was clocked by an inspector as a matter of routine. Comparative check later with License Dept. records disclosed that the film totalled some 350 feet more than its official length. Theatre is on Avenue of the Americas (6th Ave.) near 46th St. Matter was then turned over to the State Dept. of Education, official censoring agency, which rechecked film and thereupon discovered scenes tacked on after the pic had been reviewed by the board. Clampdown by Fielding resulted on complaint of the state agency. Action was first of its kind to be taken against a metropolitan house in almost 30 years. In making the move, Fielding branded the version of the film as "salacious, immoral and indecent." House had received nine previous warnings for claimed violations of the theatre code. THAT LAST ¥R. Major company distributors took a $20,000,000 beating in the past few years from fraudulent gross returns on percentage pictures, sales officials say. Size of losses are gradually .be- ing disclosed in area-by-area audit- ing of exhibitor books currently in process. Nationwide estimate is based in part, it is understood, from the alleged disclosure, that the com- panies suffered over $1,000,000 dam- ages in the Pittsburgh territory alone. Auditing - teams hired by local lawyers' who are retained in turn by . the distribs have already blank- eted the east and middle west. Sys- tem employed is to demand inspec- tion of books of all exhibs suspected of phoneying returns. With right of auditing a standard clause in sales contacts, refusal by exhib has in- variably resulted in legal action. Auditing campaign has been pushed following blowup of the Ross-Fed- eral checking system. Latest flock of suits will be filed shortly on the Coast, it is reliably reported.. Record-and-book scruti- nizing in that area is close to the windup with a considerable number of fraudulent reports revealed, off!-, cials say. Meanwhile, distribs are preparing to concentrate in the im- mediate future on the area between the Mississippi and the Rockies. Adding another suit to its long list, the eight majors Monday (20) filed separate actions in the U. S. district court of the southern district of Ohio against the George Manos circuit Of 12 Ohio houses.. Similar to other suits, complaint charges the exhib with furnishing distribs with falsified boxofflce reports on per- centage pix in order to pay lesser amounts than were due and to se- cure - reduced rentals , on past and subsequent films. Complaint in each case claims that upon demand for audit, exhib furnished for inspection a certain paper from which the attorneys for the distrib were unable to verify boxofflce receipts. Damages for the amounts claimed due; punitive dam- ages; and an injunction against tam- pering with the books are demanded in the suits. METRO SUPPLEMENTING ITS CHECKING SYSTEM Metro is presently planning on strengthening its checking setup with a view to the establishment of a regional group that will work from the field in conjunction with the h.o. force. Plans belie. recent rumors that M-G was considering abandonment of its own checking service in order to join Confidential Reports, Inc. With a number of cx-GI's return- ing to their old jobs as checkers, Metro plans to have about 1,000 clock-punchers in the field within the next few months. Company's checking is facilitated, moreover, by reps of the Willmark Agency, with Whom the company has been tied in for the last year. If Russia Gets Trade Influence In Eastern Europe, That's NG for U.S. Pix Rodgers' 10th Anni Coinciding with Metro's gen- eral sales meeting in Chicago this weekend, Wm. F. Rodgers is celebrating his 10th anni- versary as M-G general sales- manager this month; It's be- lieved the company will honor him with a special award of some kind at the convention. Rodgers joined Metro in 1924, shortly after Marcus Loew and his associates had merged with the old Goldwyn company. He. was made a veepee in 1941 and elected to the board last year, succeeding the late David Bern- stein. Fred Anderson's 11 Houses Allegedly Gypped on Pix Chicago, May 21. Eight film majors filed suit in U.S. District Court Wednesday (15) against Fred W. Anderson, Morris, 111., owner of .11 film houses; for allegedly falsifying statements of his gross receipts. In identical suits, the distributors ask for exemplary or punitive damages, of a sum to be determined by the court, and that an order be issued restraining An- derson from destroying his' receipt records. Distribs contend that the defend- ant carried out a plan to furnish false reports on percentage pictures in order to induce them to accept less percentage rental, to give lower terms on future flat and percentage deals and, in certain cases, to grant reductions in rates previously agreed upon for pictures already shown, because of the alleged, poor grosses of such pictures. Filmeries operated by Anderson are in DeKalb, Woodstock, Morrife, Coal City, Naperville, Plainsfleld, Wilmington, Seneca, Manteno, St. Charles, and Sandwich—all in Illinois. Plaintiffs asking damages are Co lumbia, Par, Warners, 20th-Fox, UA, Loew's, RKO and Universal. No. Central Allied In MPA Plea To End Pix IHilking' Minneapolis, May 21. With the downtown first-run holdover situation becoming worse for: neighborhood and suburban in- dependent exhibitors in Minneapolis and St: Paul, causing frequent prod- uct shortages and increased "milk- ing" of pictures, North Central Al- lied, independent exhibitors' or- ganization, is calling upon Eric John- ston, MPA head, . to take "drastic action" to .relieve the situation which is unfair to Independent ex- hibitors" and "causes them a seri- ous hardship." North Central Allied not only urges increased production of pic- tures, but also the inauguration of a general sales policy that, in case of a heavy backlog of pictures, will make films available for subsequent- run houses 30 days after their na- tional release dates regardless of whether they've had a downtown first-run or not. The body also has been agitating for a new standard contract, "fairer to independents," which will include a clause per- mitting cancellation of pictures which have been "milked" by their first-runs. In Minneapolis and St. Paul sit- uation has reached a stage where during many weeks there are only two "A" picture openings down- town because of the numerous hold- overs and extended first-runs. As a result, the independent neighbor- hood houses claim they are con- fronted with increasingly numerous product shortage periods, neces- sitating the dating of more "B" and lower classification pictures and re- peats and thus hurting their business. Wurtzel Sets Lot Lease Hollywood, May 21. Sol Wurtzel closed a deal for shooting space at the Morey & Sutherland Studios, calling for his complete possession of the lot every other month for six months, with an option on six months more. First Wurtzel production at the studio will be "Fortune Hunters," slated to start July 8, for 20lh-Fox release. + Reliable reports' of a secret diplo- matic deal set at the recent Paris conference by the Big Four spell the end of U.. S. film industry's hopes to recapture the eastern European market. Agreement involves Eng- land and Russia in which the former gets trade privileges In Italy' In re- turn for the Soviets retaining a free hand in the Balkans, particularly Bulgaria and Rumania. ■ Significance of the sub rosa swap, if true, is that it establishes'a precedent lor Amer- ican and British approval of the Russian policy of trade monopoliza- tion over the whole area. stretching from Finland to Greece's northern border. .[Confronted by this report, the U. S. State Department and the British foreign ministry denied the existence of a secret .pact). Film export spokesmen in New York were in the dark concerning the diplomatic ramifications but ex- pressed a skeptical attitude over the possibility of Secretary of State James F. Byrnes acceding tc a deal of this kind. "Above all, with re- spect to means of communications," one spokesman said, "America's cur- rent policy is to insist upon an open door. Motion pictures are considered in this category and we are not go- ing to stop our efforts to •■ crack through the iron wall." America's gain in the reported deal was not specified except that it may be one facet in a larger compromise to settle the differences within the United Na- tions. Pre-war revenues from the coun- tries now under Russian control were relatively small, with the exception of the Czechoslovakian film market. If the reported deal is confirmed, and the status quo is maintained, Russia will have the last word to say in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Rumania, Yugoslavia, and the Rus- sian-occupied sectors. of Germany and Austria. COL'S 39-WEEK NET UP $1,000,000 OVER 1945 Columbia's net profit for the 39 weeks ended. March 30, '46, totalled $2,315,000, a substantial gain over' a $1,380,000 net for the comparative period in '45. Figure announced by the company Is equivalent to earn- ings of $3.62 per share, of 595,447 common stock outstanding on the March 30 date. Earnings of prior year's period were $2.06 on 383,401 shares outstanding. Highest operating profit in Colum- bia's history for a comparative pe- riod was reported with the gross tallying $4,275,000 as against $2 885,000. for *45. Federal taxes of $1,960,000 were paid out by the com' pany. Bogeaus Builds Stock Co. Hollywood, May 21. Benedict Bogeaus is building his own stock company, General Play- ers, to assure talent for future pro ductions. First to sign, was Dolores Moran. Late in summer Bogeaus will visit England to contact players and story material. Revenooers Get Co-op From Majors Checking On Chiseling Exhibs Recent rash of suits filed against errant exhibs by the majors for falsification of reports is haying one beneficial effect—that of cementing cooperation between the - industry and the Government. With notice in the press of every suit filed against an exhib, agents of the Internal Revenue'Dept. recently' have immediately checked with the companies to ascertain whether the exhib might also have falsified his Federal tax returns. Government men ask for all data and most of the majors are only > too willing to open all their books to them. Increasing cooperation between the Government and the industry was also evidenced In the recent crackdown on the 16m black market ring. Through working hand in hand with reps of the majors, as well as 16m distribs, FBI agents were able to break up the ring in good time. With the industry un- successful in previous attempts to obtain the full share of Government aid for. its problems, the newly-evi- denced cooperation is looked on with great favor as an indication that the Government will back up the majors to' the hilt in the present struggle to reopen foreign markets.- Bass Under Radio In Enlarged Agcy. Branch Enlarging its Coast setup, Buch. anan & Co., New York ad agency, handling many " motion picture ac- counts, has named Sol Bass as art director in its Hollywood office. He left yesterday (Tuesday) for-the Coast. He formerly handled art on the Warner Bros, account for Blaine Thompson agency. Bass will work under Paul Radin, who heads the Coast office and was recently upped to a Buchanan v.p.