Variety (May 1946)

26 PICTURES Wednesday, May 22, 1946 State-Wide Illinois Fears New Rap tipping Amus. Tax as High as By MIKE CONNOLLY Chicago, May 21. Filmhouse, legit and other amuse- ment operators throughout Illinois are fighting'what looks like a losing battle to forestall proposed taxes on amusements that will boost present admission prices 20%. in Chi and ' 10% throughout the state. With that much more piled on cur- rent Federal take of 20%, total on Chi takes alone, if proposed meas- ures go through, will be 40%, an all- time high and a definite threat to all branches of show biz. City tax alone (10%), recently proposed by Alder- man Clarence Wagner as the best way to slice taxes of small home owners, looks like it will go into effect July 1, and the state tax— another 10%—is in the hopper for later. Showmen here meanwhile, unor- ganized as they are (as pointed out in Variety May 15 ), have their backs to the wall as far as opposing the city measure is concerned (not to mention, the state move), merely making squawks—and weak ones, at that—that the 10% tax on admissions is unfair, in view of a proposed levy of only 3% on occasional sporting events and exhibitions which is rec- ommended by Wagner and his fol- lowers for passage, on July 1, also. Latter tax, incidentally, is all the city may charge for such events un- der state law. "Why should established businesses like ours be socked 10% while one- nighters and the like take it on the chin for a mere three?" is the plaint of show biz. The question is skedded to be answered in a meeting this week of the full City Council taxa- tion committee, but the . answer won't, from this vantage point, be to the liking of the show biz guys. Need to Cut Realty Taxes Need to cut real estate taxes here Is dire, it was pointed out by Alder- man William J. Lancaster, another proponent of the measure, last week, and the estimated nick in amuse- ments,' which it's figured will bring from $7,000,000 to $10,000,00 into city coffers each year, will turn the trick. If the tax recommendation gets full .approval of the subcommittee this week. Alderman Frank Keenan, chairman, said he'll introduce ordi- nances within a few days following. Amusements, aldermen pointed out, are the only logical source of the $7,000,000 deficit the city faces in the 1947' budget, and, if It isn't forth- coming, services will have to be cut. Tax, it's doped out, will therefore go through, rather than have Mayor Edward J. Kelly's record tainted by lack of proper city services. Council action this week, inciden- tally, will beat the state legislature to the tax punch. Latter's proposal of a 10% statewide amusement tax. Including Chi, is termed by propo- nents a measure to help finance the Illinois veterans' bonus of $385,000,- 000. Battle lines drawn up by city (Democratic) and state (Republican) politicos are perhaps best illustrated by Alderman Wagner's statement last week: "The proposed state theatre tax is just another raid on the pocketbook of Chicago taxpayers. The city has a right to tax theatres, because it hps to furnish police, fire and other pro- tection, which takes most of the city funds. "Seattle derives $520,000 yearly In taxes from 48 theatres. In Chicago we receive only $220,000 at present from 315 theatres. A 10% city tax | would replace present license theatre ' fees and would also solve city finan- cial problems, at the same time help- ing small home owners." : 8 of 16 Look In City Hall dopesters figure the measure has an excellent chance of getting to the council floor this week, Inasmuch as, of the 16 votes on the ' tax committee, excluding Keenan's, eight are.regarded as sure for ;he amusement levy. Keenan's committee also is known to have under consideration propos- als for taxing Chi niteries; although eize of tax contemplated on latter hasn't been disclosed. They're also nropagandizing fact that present Federal taxes on amusements result in collection of about $17;000,000 a year in Chi alone. Mayor: Kelly himself, in the in- terim, is also lined up solidly against the state proposal, having gone on record last week with the statement, "It's nonsensical for the state to im- pose special taxes to help Anance the vets' bonus, inasmuch as they have $150,000,000 lying idle in their gen- eral revenue fund, and if they issued 30-year bonds they could pay the en- tire bonus out of that fund." • Kelly thereby puts himself in the seemingly embarrassing position of opposing the state levy while sup porting the city's. His reply to the question, 'Would you be for such a tax to help out city finances, while opposing it for the bonus?" was "Certainly not!" Withal, there's a wailing wall around the Loop this week. Philly's Tax Tilt From 4 to 10% Looks Certain Philadelphia, May 21 Increase of the city amusement tax from 4 to 10% is a virtual certainty following, the action of City Council's Finance Committee last week in' unanimously endorsing the in crease despite protests by theatre and hotel interests. The Finance Com- mittee passed it 13-0, and since only 12 votes are needed in Council, pass- age is expected when the body meets on Thursday (23). A packed house attended the com mittee's hearings at which rep- resentatives of Warners and in- dependent theatres presented pro- tests from nearly .250,000 patrons of the city's Aimers. Morris Wolf, counsel for Warners, warned that raising the. tax would mean a loss of business and conse quent loss of revenue to the city. He pointed but that theatre patrons would be paying 30% in taxes if the increase was imposed. Albert M. Cohen spoke in behalf of the indies, Morris B. Saul, representing the legit theatres, declared that pro- ducers would by-pass Philly in rout- ing their shows and that the city would become a "backwoods village theatrically." One councilman cracked at this point that it was im possible to buy tickets at the box- office anyway, Orville H. Bullitt, president of the Philly Orchestra Association, de- clared that since the symph. was a "cultural" institution it should be exempted from the tax. Charles M. Mosser, counsel for the Civil Service Employees Association, speaking in favor of the increase (the money is supposed to go toward rais- ing wages of city employees), used figures from Variety to "refute state- ments by film interests that business was bad." "Only terms that describe busi ness in Philadelphia," said Mosser, "are 'socko,' 'smash' and 'tsrrif.* " 20th's Net Continued from page 3 success with "Leave Her to Heaven' and other pictures. Total taken in was $46,300,000 compared with the 1945 aggregate for the same period of $42,000,000. Improvement In the tax situation also accounted for some of the Fox upturn in net, since the excess profits levy was removed this year and the income tax was reduced from 40% to 38%. Despite the gross being up $4,000,000 over 1945, the company had to provide only the same amount as last year for the in come tap. Amount set aside was $5,' 250,000, compared with $5,135,000 last year. Company's major expenditures during the three months, naturally, were for operating and administra- tive expenses, of: its distributing and theatre setup. Cost was about $23,- 000,000. Amortization of production accounted for another $10,000,000, approximately, while participation in film rentals took about $1,750,000. Depreciation of Axed assets was charged off at approximately $550,- 000. This does not include $150,000 allowed for depreciation of studio buildings and equipment, which was charged up to production cost. Profits represent/'mcome from the top company and all 20th subsids, in- cluding National Theatres and Roxy Theatre, N. Y., with the exception of foreign subsids not wholly-owned. There is presently outstanding a mi- nority interest in National Theatres represented by 40 shares of class B stock convertible into 400 shares of class A upon payment of $5,085,000. Had the conversion been made March 30, 1946, the .consolidated earned surplus would have been re- duced by $998,429. British Indies ; Contained from page 4 ; demand for studio space, even worse than in Hollywood because of the limited British facilities. Indicative of the unnatural manner in which the demand has caused prices to sky- rocket is the case of James Mason. A star of "Seventh Veil" and other Rank pix that have already run in the U. S. keys, Mason is still practi- cally an unknown to the American masses in the small towns and will have to be. given a tremendous pub- licity buildup to become a drawing power.in this country. Despite that, however, th'e>»actor is turning down offers of $200,000 for a single picture because he hasn't the time to make them. Salary has seldom been equalled by the top Hollywood names. European Findings After a tour of Germany, in which he and Wallis visited Berlin, Frank- fort,. Weisbaden and Nuremberg, Hazen brought back a 'very pessi- mistic outlook on the political situa- tion. Rapid redeployment of 2,000,- 000 .GIs from Europe is actually causing us to lose the peace, he said. Present occupation army, consisting largely of young soldiers who had no share in the fighting, are fraternizing openly with the German women— and also German male civilian em- ployees—and many of them are picking up the Nazi ideology through insidious propaganda, .. ■ Army is so depleted, Hazen said, that it causes situations that are at once tragic and farcical. As an ex- ample, he pointed out, some Ameri- can pilots in Germany have known to refuse to fly anymore because of the lack of ground crews to service the planes. Under Army regula- tions, a plane is to be serviced every 30-35 hours after it's been in the air, but some are not serviced now for more than 230 .hours. Pilots are frankly afraid to take them up. Depletion of the Army has also created a feeling of ridicule among the Germans for American soldiers, Hazen said. Russians, on the other hand, are both feared ^d respected. Black market- in Germany is still thriving and the majority of the people have plenty to eat. Pointing out that the British must export at least half of their basic commodities in order to get the all-important foreign exchange currency, Hazen declared that it's tragic the way most of the Germans are rosy-cheeked and healthy, while the British are deprived of so much'. British are taking their sacrifices, however, with the typical "stiff up- per lip." Government can't redeploy the Tommies, both' because it can't feed them at home and because it fears that, once the English with- draw from the Continent, the Rus- sian influence will sweep like wild- fire westwards into France. It's in- teresting to note, Hazen added, the way power politics and the film business is thus tied up in one gen- eral pattern, Studio Contracts Hollywood, May 21. Natalie Wood, moppet, Int. Glenn Ford, renewed, Columbia. Stephen Goosson, art chief, Col. Bonnie Bannon, renewed, 20th. Richard Long, moppet, int. Dolores Moran, actress, General. Bill Bacher, renewed, 20th-Fox. Robert Bassler, renewed, 20th-Fox. Barbara McLean, film ed., 20th. Dick Paxton, actor, Monogram. Billy De Wolfe, renewed, Par. Hale McKeen, writer-dir., 20th. Robert Wilder, writer. Paramount. Anne Jeffreys, renewed, RKO. Jean Marshall, actress, Paramount. Philip Dunne, writer, 20th-Fox. Jean Wallace, renewed, 20th-Fox. Charles Russell, renewed, 20th-Fox. Vera-EUen, renewed, Gbldwyn, Hazel Dawn, actress, 20th-Fox. James Craig, actor, Metro. Conrad Janis, actor,' 20th-Fox. Lex Barker, actor, RKO. Ludwig Donath, renewed, Col. Europe's Pen , Hollywood, May 21. European writers are flooding Hollywood with postwar story ma- terial, according to Metro's reading department. Culver City lot is handling an average of 50 foreign stories a month, Including hovels, unproduced legit plays and original screen syn- opses, in various-languages. Inside Stuff-Pictures Some radio comic's jibe that Metro is going to make a sequel to "See Here, Private Hargrove" and "What Now, Corporal Hargrove?" titled "Pipe Down, Private Enterprise" brought an Indignant anonymous phone call to the Chicago Leo exchange Friday (3) from a lady who termed herself "a representative of little businessmen." She finally got connected with Bill Bishop in the publicity department, and kept him on the phone almost an hour blasting Metro for lining up with big business "to drive the little guys out of business." Bishop finally convinced her, however, that on the basis of past per- formances Metro's heart is with the underdog, digging up the following. Metro product,^among others, to prove his point: "He who.Gets Slapped" "Greed," "Big Parade," ''The Crowd," "Hallelujah " "Anna Christie/' "Skippy," "TugboatiAnnie," "The Good Earth," the Andy Hardy pix, and "Goodbye, Mr. Chips." During the first four seconds after the atom bomb bursts on Bikini Atoll in Operations Crossroads, the AAF expects to use more motion pic- ture film than Hollywood cameramen use in the making of four full length features. During the month of March alone, reports "Air Force," official publication of the AAF, over 1,750,000 feet of motion picture film was shipped to the Marshalls for the bomb pictures and the rehearsals now going on. More than 300 cameras will be used in various phases of the picture job. Many of the . cameras will be set off mechanically from a distance to catch the explosion from beginning to end. Among these will be motion picture cameras in "drone" planes—remote-controlled B-17's— which will actually fly in to the mushroom of smoke caused by the explo- : sion. AAF figures it will be handling the largest photographic job in history and some of the scientists believe it may . take several years to fully, analyze the various still and motion pictures to be made. Sound technicians at Metro are wrestling with a problem entirely new to motion picture production: "How does an atomic bomb sound when it blows its top?"' American pilots, who dropped the atoms on Japan, scrammed out. of. there so'fast that they had no time to memorize the musical nuances of the explosions. Scientists who heard the experimental blast in. New Mexico reported various aural impressions, all differing. Studio technicians are working.to devise a general, sound effect, realistic but not too much so. They don't want to bash the eardrums of the film customers. Employees of Floyd Odium's Atlas Corp. narrowly escaped a repeat per- formance of the Empire State catastrophe when an army transport plane Monday (20) crashed into 40 Wall St. The plane, lost in the fog, hit squarely at 58th floor level which houses the Atlas offices. Saying'fea- ture was the time of the accident, a little past 8 p.m., when all company, employees had already left for the day. Atlas interests are prominent in RKO and Paramount. Big celebration will be tossed by Warners next August on the 20th anni- versary of talking pictures, but Thomas A. Edison predicted sound on the screen long years before anybody in Hollywood ever dreamed about it. Half a century ago Edison wrote: "I believe that in coming years grand opera can be given at the Metropolitan Opera in New York without any material change from the original; and with artists and musicians long since dead." At that time Edison's prophecy was snooted'at. COMET FORMS NEW GO. FOR COMMERCIAL PIX Hollywood, May 21. Comet Associated Film Producers, Inc., organized separately from Comet Productions, Inc., was formed here by Mary Pickford, Buddy- Rogers and Ralph Cohn, with Selmer L. Chalif as chairman of . the board. Idea of the new company is to pro- duce high budget commercial and educational films while using the executive and production personnel of Cpmet Productions. Hood of Film-Struck GIs Seeking SAG Cards A flood of applications for mem- bership from ex-GIs hit with the bug to be film stars and intent on crashing the cameras via the back- door of eastern studios have piled up at the Screen Actors Guild's front desk. Over 200 veterans, in the past, few months, have sought the Guild card as a preliminary to put- ting the bee on eastern producers for work as extras, an SAG official estimated. Despite a relaxing of Guild entry rules to give the vets a break, most have been turned down because of failure to meet even minimum standards. Under recently liberalized requi- sites, a vet is accepted if he has a cdmmitment from a producer or shows "great promise," an official said. Non-vet applicants must fol- low old SAG rules which call for the appearance before an admission board meeting quarterly which checks experience, training, appear- ance, wardrobe and amount of work expected in the field. At that, it was explained, the re- jection percentage is very high be- cause the average dischargee's sole claim to thespian ability is some- thing in the order of a GI show. With the wartime drought, on youth- ful males more than met by the return of 75 guildites for the limited requirements of eastern studios, the guild has been playing it down the middle in an effort to be fair with Its older members. Use of pre- liminary surgery at the front desk to discourage. GI neophytes is figured to save the veteran from the heart- breaking runaround that goes with nothing but Army or Navy playing time as .a background, officials say. WB Holding Tierce' (Joan's Oscar Pic) For Later Reissuing On the ground that it isn't worth jeopardizing future reissue possibili- ties by taking repeat bookings on a picture such' as "Mildred Pierce," Warner Bros, is turning down all requests for return engagements on this' one. Many exhibitors immedi- ately wanted to play the • picture back following recent Academy award to Joan Crawford, for her performance in "Pierce" as best for any actress during 1945. ■ In some cases, threatres wanted to repeat "Pierce" before late-runs had had a chance to book it. ■ Felt within Warners that the pic- ture, which is heading for a national gross rental of $4,000,000 or over, has greater - reissue value a year or more hence. Pointed out at the same time that the money which is picked up on repeats does not com- pare with what can be done on re- issuance of a picture if kept out of circulation for a reasonable length of time. In addition, so far as "Pierce" is concerned, WB has a picture on its shelf starring Miss Crawford, being "Humoresque." While not for re- lease until probably this fall, WB does not want to crowd it through summer repeats on "Pierce." States-Righter Buys Old Cornel Wilde N.Y. Indie A picture produced several years : ago in New York with Cornel Wilde, hot boxoffice draw currently in Columbia's "Bandit of Sherwood Forest" but which was never re- leased, has been purchased by Jack Rieger,. president of Trinity Pic- tures, which controls rights to sev- eral old fight pictures and reissue of various Joe E. Brown features. Rieger, who left for the Coast Saturday (18), stated prior to de- parture that he will be west two months re-editing and re-shaping the picture with Wilde. It will be released, he adds, early.this coming fall. Tentative title is "Hollywood Ballyhoo." Deal for rights to the film with Wilde was made with Gene Marcus, who independently produced it in the east. Prior to "Bandit," Wilde appeared in Col's "Song to Remember.!' He is coming up in 2dth-Fox's forthcoming "Forever Amber." .