Variety (May 1946)

20 PICTURES Wednesday, May 29, 1946 Bigger Crowds Make Theatres Poorer Fire Insurance Risks Than Formerly Current national ''upswing in lire* Josses, estimated by tin: National ' Board o[ Fire Underwriters lo be heading for a $600,000,000 peak year ji) ]94(i, lias "caught theatres in the irend according to local insurance people and the national 'rating scrv- irc. Once 'thought' to be good risks, (specially after Boston's Coconut Grove lire forced much protective legislation.' theatres have been proven by research to follow lire trends the same as other buildings, but not as strongly. Because picture houses and oilier places of amusement do nut follow fire trends as emphatically as do homes and factories, rales on jnsur- ' ;inco of nitcries and theatres have dropped over the past live years to ;i point low in.comparison with those on other buildings. In spite of this, insurance companies consider the- atres "unprofitable risks." Although there have been no outstanding lire losses either nationally or in the New York environs for several years, it's felt that theatre crowds multiply ordinary carelessness of (he average person, and when the loss does occur, it is usually rather sub- Manlial. Bogart Set at Col. Limit Theatregoers To Age 22 In Epidemic Of Polio In San Antonio San. Antpnio, May 28. San Antonio entered its third week of a polio epidemic with a stringent ban on all- entertainment. Age Jim'it Hollywood, May 28. lias been raised lo 22 years, and all .Humphrey Bogardt, currently un-' j im der that age are being refused ad- der suspension at Warners, will be loaned to Columbia for the star spot in "Dead-Reckoning." Sidney Biddell produces and John Cromwell directs, starling June .1. mitlance to local theatre*- Theatre M-G Production Peak Hollywood, May 28,. Melro hits a high production murk this week with eight pictures in work, one busy with dance rehears- als and another shooting added scenes. In work are. '"My Brother Who Talked lo Horses," "The Mighty Mc- Gurk," "High Barbavce," "The Be- ginning or the "End."" "Uncle Andy Havd^r" "Sea of Grass," "Lady In the Lake" and "A Woman of My Own." Meanwhile Joe Paslernnck is WB Ups Release Sked to 24 Pix Rellecting recent cuts in tirsl-run j playing lime and efforts to break' the lagjam on flow of product into the subsequent, Warner Bros, will re- lease more pictures this year fflan during any 12-monlh period since 19«. Total for 1946 is expected to run to 24 features. Number compares with 19 re- leases' in 1945, 19 in 1944 and- 21 'in 1943. Past three years represented a sharp drop from previous Irgures. Meanwhile, doubt was-'expressed i with 34 releases in 1942 and 48 In thai inflammable film has had aity-j 194), WB, incidentally, holds the thing to do . with fire underwiters' ; niiiime lilm industry high, with 68 sentiments. Insurance men say that j pictures-released during 1937. picture houses have made their booth | WB. since the. start of the present protection almost, foolproof. season last September, has been is- Overall glance at the. loss poten- : suing an average or two pictures a tia) of theatres as compared with . month, although they have been that of other structures, reveals fact; coming out irregularly. For in- lhut theatres are not, by compari- : stance, there was only one in No- biz continued on the downhill. Local 1 conducting rehearsals for "The Un- ■',. • u ■ _ \ t -..>» «a finished Dance." and Richard Whorf soldiers were being refused ad-, |s „' lin , ni! .. adf , M soencs ro , -tni the mitlance.to the houses as well. ' Clouds Roll By." ' : -Only houses doing any biz at all were the two local drive-in 'theatres,;! Soldiers were.beiug permitted to see ' the shows there if they remained in their cars. Recent order slated.thai ban would be enforced until June 1, and that If 'epidemic did not abate, it would be extended. St. L MPTO Gets No. Central Allied Minneapolis, May 28. . ' Internal fight 'among independent exhibitors impends in this territory, with the American Theatre Assn. and North Central Allied, independ- ent exhibitors body, at loggerheads. Gilbert Nathanson, an independent circuit owner himself, , who heads I ATA here, is -lining up olher inde- ' pendents for his campaign to enroll theatre-owners in his organization. ! Nathanson has defied Allied and | announced he'll organize (he terri- . t , i lory for ATA. Allied hot only re- „ ' „, L , s,: tou^-MarM : ..' T usc d to indorse ATA, but President Fred Wehrenberg. prez of Motion , Bemlie BerKel . o( 4 ha , , body is " re if>l ii I'O Th«a I r*» Ovi-novc ASSII. Of'* •■- Chicago Sidetracks 10% Theatre Tax to Study Alternate Sewer Rap Chicago, May .28 Proposed 10% city tax on thehiie adiiiishes and 3% tax on athletic events was sldetracked--bul , m w t e m p o r a r ily—by Chicago's oily council last week. The committee ' on taxation was authorized lo siudy the advisability of imposing-a'sewcV tax in Chi, based on the amount of water used .by each consumer, us a ' possible alternative. Program on taxing amusements suggested by the committee was.de- signed lo raise ah estimated $7.000- 000 annually for the city's budget socking amusements rather than ini- posing further taxes on home own. ers; ,in fact, committeemen said the move would result in a dip in real estate levies. After resolution of show biz laxes was made, it was moved lo-put it over for a longer period in.order to see if there would be any conflict with a state program which con- templates amusement (axes to .fi- nance the slate's soldier bonus. With 10% sought by both city and'»lale proponents of the bills, (luil would mean an additional 20'.' on lop of Federal laxes on admishes in both picture and legit houses, or a total of 40'r, which is -.described as a "near death-blow" by.operators. Picture Eastern Theatre Owners Missouri and: : questing territory independents not .... . j . ■ . . f. 0U, t! en V to afTiliate with-it. He charges lhat Illinois and owner of an indie chain ATA wi|l be conllo n ed fc y Hnd 0 p- of picture theatres in St. Louis ««d • el .„ te( , in the inl0 , esl 0 f distributor- St. Lotus County-,-. has -enlisted the aid ■ ow|ied 0leall ; e chi , ins of all theatre owners in a fight Coal Strike End Continued from pant 2 ... owners in a ii B mi | Kg claimed bv Nalhanson. that son. expected lo contribute heavily j vember. one in January and one in I against the proposed 5'.,. amusement | 0|uy H corM p a , H tj ve | v small percent-' lo the 600 million dollar loss total or : May. while there were three releases ' lax. introduced in the local Board ; at{e <)f the leri '-i| 0iy exhibitors has 1946. Figures supplied by the na- ' in other months. For the remain- of Aldermen last week. The measure j oi|)cd Up wiln /v I lied and will heed tional rating service aire.complete up to 1944. last year in which the com- puted totals.were.supplied them by- insurance companies. Totals show a steady upward trend in fire losses to picture houses and other entertainment' spots. In 1938, fires cost show biz $1,067,000: 1939. $1,599,000: 1940, $1,657,000: 1941. SI.272.000; 1942. $1,955,000: 1943. $1.- 987.0110: 1944.' $2,251,000: and 1945 is expected to show a continued up- ward trend. During the same period. : " ." ~~ " " New York state climbed rroin $59,000 i 'U ft l Clint' fitk Ava N Y lo $228,000. Its seen, however, that ; llUl vUVl. WIUftVC, 11.1., the totals are relatively small , as against national : losses, especially when compared with the ratio of value of amusement properties to that of others. National underwriters have ex- der of the season, company is put- ling the'schedule on a more regular basis of one release approximately every two weeks. Announced for the next three months, on this schedule, are "One More Tomorrow.'' June 1: "Janie Gels Married," June 22; ' A Stolen Life," July 6: "Of Human Bondage." July 20: '".Night and Day." Aug. : 3. and "Two Guys from Milwaukee," Aug. 17. Berger's "orders." He alleges that latter outfit is "unfair" in taking its stand against ATA. which, he as- serts, does not conflict, and will not, with Allied. He promises a vigor- ous drive for members. * Exhibitor Now Faces Criminal Prosecution So to place the 5'« tax on amusements is a means sought by city fathers to raise additional revenue for municipal functions. Earlier in the. week Harry C Arthur. Jr., head of Fanchon * Marco's interests here, issued a pub- lic protest against the proposed tax i So. CM. Kxhlbs Vote ATA and pointed our that its enactment I Hollywood. May 28. will result in St. Louis being the i Southern California Theatre Own- only city in the U. S. where three ' ers Assn. has voted unanimously- at taxes are levied against'amusements, annual meeting to become member At present the 20','i Federal and of American Theatres Assn. 2', state sales tax are in efTecl, and ! Incumbent board of directors was the additional 5«;' will make theatre-" also reelected for coming year. They goers-pay. the highest tax rate in the . are George Bowser. Marco Wolff, country, according to exhibs. Weh- Mike Rosenberg. Harry Vihnicof. Criminal prosecution of. Benjamin . .. , , . Brodie and the Benrnir Amuse. Corp.; pressed the fear that much orpro-, , eS!iees or the . Miami theatre. 6th ducl.ve weal h of the U S; is being avemie house. N. V., was instituted ost m fires at a time when the coun- \ this week by License Cdmmlssioncr try needs itmost. ! Benjamin Fielding for alleged viola- ! lions of the obscenity laws. The j.move. unwittingly or otherwise, | heads off a legal test of Fielding's ; power to summarily shutter a the- ! atrc without court action. The Miami i padlocking followed claimed doctor- ing of the film "Guilty Parents" by the addition of "hot shots." ■ The American : Civil Liberties I Union, which had protested the li- cense suspension and announced in Foreign Pix Continued from pane 7 s ing the negotiations, but is being held in abeyance for the present. Under the agreement with the Czech govt., its believed that 35"i of the gross rrom the 40 pix will go to U. S. companies, after deduction of a charge for distrib costs by the Czech monopoly that controls all theatres in the country. renberg asked St. Louis members of the MPTOA to write or wire each member of the Board of Aldermen of their protests. The exhibitors also are ready to place large lobby post- ers in their theatres to inform the customers what the tax will mean to them individually, as the new tax will be passed on to them. Gus Metzger,. Bernard Leavitt and Ned Calvi. Benjamin Seeks Space At PRC for Eagle-Lion; Production Ready to Roll Hollywood. May 28. Huddles are slated to begin in N. Y. tomorrow between PRC; and Eagle-Lion execs concerning the possible use by Eagle-Lion of PRC l-sludio facilities. PRC prexv Harry lory habit set by the J. Arthur Rank i T -° ,m V S he,e ,0r N ' • Y > lod ^ 4 RANK OFFICIALS IN FOR U.S, CONFABS Continuing the westward migra could not be shipped. Ted Gamble, board chairman of the American Theatres Assn, conferred Saturday morning with George Doyiiig of the Civilian Production Adminis- tration, and obtained assurance that no CPA order issued in coimeclioiv with the coal shortage would hit theatres harder than other commer- cial business. Originally, CPA had listed theatres as "non-essential" and likely lo be cracked down oh harder than retail stores. There still remained a possibility that the CPA might be forced to | issue a general coal conservation order. However, this would be. the I minimum restriction required. Local I communities could go further in up- ' plying restrictive orders, lo con- ' serve fuel. At the time the railroad si like was in effect. Arch Mercey, motion picture liaison for the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion, got permission for newsreels to inova as priority freight. This permitted prompt shipment of the current reels | "Tuesday ) for confabs with Robert j organization, four more Rank ex- ; S. Benjamin. Pathe Industries coun- tention to challenge the legality of . ccs - a,e due in New York tomorrow ; sel, and prexy of Eagle-Lion, and Robert-Puree11, Pathe exec. Byrnes Hep la Fix Setup Eric Johnston conferred Fridav <24i wilh Secretary of State James the comish's act. say now it would ! '30>. Officials are John Davis man- no longer intervene. Still steamed : aging dil ett01 . of the Rank 01 „ aniza . ■ Eagle-Lion's production schedule over Fieldings summary suspension : ,,„„. .,.■■„ ,, ... ! ls slated to start rolling hs soon as of license. ACLU reps continue to . '""V John Woo,r -' J0inl man»«mj|. Bryan Foy and Aubrey Schenck. maintain that the iriitial suspension • ""' ector General Film Distribu-j both now in N. Y.. return to the was unconstitutional exercise of I tors: Filippo Del Guidice, head ©f.jC««t. PRC is already mapping its P. Byrnes on"The TrCnch'TcTan "pro- '■??" S0 ,' ship ' but Fieldin K' s '-Present ac- Two Cities Films; «nd Gabriel J>as-!»«••«•'*'■»«.. Sig Neufeld has com- posal. and came away declaring that ! l, ° ,V ' llowever - wa s proper they said. .. , p rodllcei .. ( ,j,. ec , 01 . of th , • m'tments for three features, as well Byrnes was -friendly and enthusi- : since .^ wocalion. of a license was .. r '.„, V .. I " s ,hree we!il «»n». for the outfit. ' permitted under the Wales Act ; .?»«•«• « ntl Cleopatra." Alexander Stern is pHcted for one should a criminal conviction befob- | Davis who p'aned inlo Toronto ! feature, with deals currently being gained. over the weekend for confabs with ! negotiated for^others. Bro<lie waived examination Mon- . Odeon Circuit officials, comes to ! - Pine-Thomas has one more film day i27j in Magislrales Court. His New York for a three-day stay, to turn out before vacating the PRC the . astic" in his attitude toward motion picture industry. "I was amazed at his knowledge of the foreign-.film situation"'said Johnston. "He had a thorough Kra*p of.the problem." violation or Sec, 1140A or"the Peiial ; ^e Coasl shortly and then retrace Mrst word that the-French loan Code, will be heard either in Special ' *ast ward for. the New York' preem negotiations were completed came . or General Sessions, depending on i °f Two Cities' "Henry V." Pascal Saturday in ;i statement by Leon whether the defendant asks for i-will huddle wilh Rank and Uniled case, in which he is charged with a I.Woolf and Del Guidice w|U head to ', lot next month. Blum, chief of the French delega- jury United Artists' exec, on U.S. releas-. lion, who made no mention of Ihe Fielding's lifting of the license sev-| '"i Plans for his "Caesar and Cleii- picture angle. . . era 1 weeks ago came after a. visit by | Patra/' Possibility of producing ~— - —- ; dept. inspectors allegedly disclosed : Broadway plays next season will be Mitchell Heads New Firm Hollywood, May 28. Gordon S. Mitchell, who i-eeei'llv resigned as manager of tin- Hex-an-ii Council of Hie Academy i,l Mo: Ion Picluie Ails and S c i e n ,• is. ;m- nounccil the' formation of Mi-Scope Pictures. Inc.. an indu.-li ial and edn- t-alional prixlueing lid iI In addition to Mitchell as presi- dent, ihe officers of the -\rw com- pany are Bernard F. McAv.-ctv. \ee- pee in charge of production: E. '/.. Walters, vecpee and lieas'uier. anil Ernest Maples, secretary ;■•:<( a.'Mst- ant treasurer. Paul Nathan Hired As WaUis Exec Aide Hollywood. Mav 28. w Hal Wallis hired Paul Nathan as that the film ran some 350 feet over id'iscu.sxed by Pascal with his re'pre- * n execu,,v « assislanl. chiefly to ''- •••--"■'•-••- ;.tentative. Leland Havward; prior to wolk wiln ' w, ' il « 1 '* <> n development his return to England on June 20 i of '."'W - material for forlhcoming .....^ ' product iona. 1 For several months, since his r«^ turn from Army service. N<j(han sal in as sloiy edilor while. Join, Movk was in England. I It s mil Ihe same Pan] Nalhaii a» with Paramount in N. Y.1 ; its length' when first reviewed by ; the censorship board. The .commis- ; sinner's action which raised the cen- sorship cry was the fir.-l of jis kind (akcn ill alinosl 30 :■<■», f The Mi;urij is located hm the Avwinf of Ari>i;- icas 'liih n\f.) :if„r 4fflh ftrw t. Jack Carson's'Calamity' j HoilyxotKl-, May 2t. Ariii .Shei iilari ri. *v.-«' .hrk Cm .im as co-siar in .the for:;icorfi,ng Jc/i -.- . Walcl produclion.' "Cn\uir.:tv .fa-;*-." a| Warners ' ( 1 Carson will fit ,> M V/.M Bill Hickok. Cinetechnicians Set May 2J» Deadline For Work HollVrtood. Mji.v. 2K. Moiiiiii Pielure C.'iiielei liniciaiis set Wednesday.- May 2». as the dearlliiie f 'i then le.'Timl lo handle anything loiier.ed by maehinisls not affiliated ':'•'< A.-neiicaii federiitifin -<,f 'Labor. .Volire- !o tl,^.t effeil iiax been .•rrvro' .ut, -*\\ -Major lots and all affil.atttf -ii.ihif s>.hr»<* memb«<rs- are m.fi'.MHl in'.the film inil.nUy, WITNEY STEERS 'HOME' Hollywood, May 28. Repnbljc assigned William'Witney to direct the next Roy k Rogers sad- tile iidvenlure. "Home'in. Oklahoma.'' Filming starts on local ion-at Ok la- hotriB City. 'June..8, wilh Edward J. While us producer.. Speculate en Op»mll»ii While tha railroad strike ended loo qgickly to have had any seri- ous effect on the picture industry, threat of a continuation of the soft* coal strike has exhibitors wonder- ing just how long they can con- tinue rulllime operation. Emer- gency Controls Division of the i Civilian Production Administration I is readying orders to. put Ihe ..en-, 'tire country under a brownout im- i less the strike is settled within the | next two-days, which means heavy j curtailment of power use by film : houses ECD had prepared to put j the order into effect Monday '27) I but deferred decision for an addi- tional two. days. Under the brownout order, con- sumption of electricity will be re- duced in accordance with the amount of coal on hand in pailiai- lar localities. Those areas which were hit hardest in the two-week, strike which preceeded the Iruce are expected to feel the efrecis of its resumption first. Theatres, which consume large amounts of power in operating marquee and lobby lights and arc projectors, and which are not considered as essen- tial business, will be the first lnt by the power cut. : ' It is expedfd | that picture houses will be ope" ' only a few specified hours every 'day in a move to cut consiimp'io"- Using Chicago, which was hardest hit In the earlier strike, as an ex- ample, the nation's film industry can expect lo lose many millions-of dollars a month in grosses.' Clu, . ' (luring its period of darkness, -was estimated to have dropped in ihe neighborhood of $2,000.0011 under limited operation. New York op- erators have biten volunla'rily' con- tinuiiig brownout of Iheii' marquea lighls while awaiting a final-greet) light from Mayor O'Dwycr on full operation. The go-ahead was' ex- pected . shortly, but wijl be a lp»K : lime coming, now thai the walkout ( has resumed.