Variety (Jul 1946)

Wednesday, July 31, 1946 PIES JOIN TO CUT DISTRIB FEES Dave Rose Rating Par, England, To Produce; James Mason Associated David E. Rose, Paramount's man-* aging director and chairman in Great Britain, is leaving the corpora- tion to go. into independent produc- tion in England and also likely in the U. S. No successor has been picked but one will be named before Hose leaves his present position in September. Rose, who has returned to Eng- land, had been in the U. S. diAussIng details of his production setup with Par executives for several weeks. Understood that one stipulation of his production arrangement provides for Paramount to have first call on any picture he completes. Reported that Rose plans to make two fea- tures per. year, one in London and the other in Hollywood. Originally Rose went to England for Par to assume charge of com- pany's British production. In such capacity he produced several pic- tures, outstanding being "Stolen Life," starring Elizabeth Bergner, and "French Without Tears," co- starring Ray . Mllland and Ellen Drew. Despite the war blitz. Rose also made "Hatter's Castle", and "Quiet Wedding" for Par, both pic- tures giving impetus to the careers of James Mason, Deborah Kerr and Margaret Lockwood. Later, Rose was named managing director by Paramount because the company wanted an active official there and feeling that the. ill healffi of John Cecil Graham, then m.d,, prevented this. That was eight years ago. Graham since has gone to Hollywood, where he's reported still In poor health. Paramount officials ' stated they are grateful for the fine representa- tion Rose gave Par interests in Britain, especially during the war years, the managing director staying on throughout the worst blitz periods. Rose always had reported directly (Continued on page 54) Smart GOP Move to Cot Amos. Taxes Catches Demos Fiat-Footed Washington, July 30. Smart Republican political move, beating the drums for a 20% tax cut next year, has* caught the Democrats flat - footed here and may prove the opening wedge to reducing the admissions tax in the next session of Congress. While nothing more can be done this- session, since the 79th Con- gress .adjourns sine die this week- end, the Republicans indicated that they would make tax reduction one of their major campaign Issues this fall. If they get control of the House in November, it is a foregone con- clusion that the Ways and - Means Committee, under Republican con- trol for the first time since 1930, will probably meet in January to consider, tax reduction legislation. Chairman of the committee would then be Rep. Harold Knutson (R., Minn.) who, for months, has been calling for a return of the excise levies to their prewar levels. This, of course, would reduce 'the boxof- flce bite from 20% to 10%. Tax on nitery tabs would fall from 30% to 5%. The issue would then go to the Senate, which is expected to remain under Democratic control no matter what happens in the House. Senate is hardly expected to resist tax reduction legislation if it has passed the House. President Truman has declared for a retention of the present high tax rates through calendar 1947, on the ground that they are necessary to balance the budget and take a chunk out of the $268,000,000,000 na- tional debt. Whether he would sign or veto the bill is anybody's guess. Newest and Biggest Hollywood, July SO. ■ Brynie Foy, a smart cookie, . rang in this week with a funnier B than he ever put on the screen. He threw out a press line and caught not only the AP but also Senator Bilbo. ' Reference, of course, is to producer Foy's ' offer of $500 a week to Mis-sis-slppi's Bilbo to appear in a "Senator Clag- .' horn" (Kenny Delmar) picture. No doubt Foy was on the level, and would have had a circus if the offer had gone through, but the eldest of the Foys happens to know what publicity is all about. And Bilbo not only went for it but issued a prepared and formal statement in reply. Hallelujah, boys! Meet The New Chump! Pars Releases Slowed Despite Stern-PRC Apart Hollywood, July 30. Alexander Stern Productions* will make new. distribution affiliation' after severing ties with PRC. Production outfit has been linked with latter firm for five years. Notwithstanding the existence of a large backlog. of product, with the advent of single-selling Para- mount intends to slow up releases, it is reported, while at the same time probable that the wheels of production at the studio will be tuned down. Company at present has 29 pic- tures completed but yet to be re- leased, a greater number than will be delivered with the end of the current season (1945-46), when a total" of 26 will have been made, available. Through August, when the 1945-46 season washes up. Par will supply five pictures, "O.S.S.," "Searching Wind," "Martha Ivers," 'Swamp Fire" and "Monsieur Beaucaire," all of w'hich have already been sold in many situations but after that noth- ing is set excepting "Blue Skies" which tees off the 1946-47 semester. While setting up no specific sales plan in the face of single-selling which began last week, Par issued lengthy instructions to its sales force which, among other things, advised that auction-biddiing be disregarded for the present. Instructions, running 16-pages, for most part were made up of an anal- ysis of the recent U. S. anti-trust de- cision, pointing out the "dori'ts," such as elimination of formula deals, moveovers, price" minimums, etc. HAL ROACH TALKS DISTRIB VIA COL. Deal is being talked by Hal Roach for distribution of his new product via Columbia. Frank Seltzer, Roach aide, was. in New York last week for huddles with Jack Cohn, Col v.p., and other h.o. toppers. He returned to the Coast over the weekend. Roach distributed through United Artists before he went into the Army , and ceased production early in the war. He is now embarked on making comedy features, although they no longer will be the 30-min- ute affairs which he labeled "stream- liners" when he was making them about Ave years ago. Three of the new pix are nearing completion. SMALL, BUCHMAN HAWKS, SP MOVE Hollywood, July 30. Quartet of indies is reported join- ing forces here to use their com- bined producing power to seek im- proved releasing terms and put their operations on a more economic basis via central offices and common dis- tribution representation. Their pro- duction also will be financed by a common source. Combine, which tags Itself 'The Quality Group," is reported to include Edward Small, Howard Hawks, Sidney Buchman and Armand Deutsch's and Hal Home's Story Productions. More names may be added to it later. Financing will come from Motion Picture Investors, lending agency which Small operates in association with Daniel O'Shea and Maury Cohen. Combine is planning a mini- mum of one and maximum of two pictures yearly from each of its members. Releasing deal is now being talked with a number of majors and con- siderable interest has been generated, since the average budget.wlll be $1.- 500,000 per picture and grosses of $5,000,000 are being talked.: Group will be in the class of Enterprise as a top indie unit. Small had released until recently via United Artists and had been talking. a new deal with the com- pany. UA was demanding consid- erably higher terms, however, than under Small's old pact, which— along with the financing angle—pos- sibly influenced his decision to strengthen his bargaining power. Although release will be through a common channel and there will be many facilities, each member will be completely autonomous in produc- tion and there's no plan at the mo- ment of even using the same studio. Each producer will be an entity, al- though efforts will be made to op- erate economically by having a com- mon music department and other (Continued pn page 16) 20th-Fox to Eye NT Share Deal Special 20th-Fox stockholders' meet has been set for Aug. 20 to act on a proposal which calls for the purchase by National Theatres of all its Class B stock currently in the hands of Charles Skouras, Elmer J. Rhoden, H. J. Fitzgerald and F. H. Ricketson, Jr. A 58% interest in National. Theatres is held by 20th. The B stock was sold to the four National Theatres managers in 1944 for $565,000 with the right to con- vert it into A stock representing a 20% interest in National Theatres upon payment of a premium of $5,- 085,000. Managers have received an offer by Transamerica Corp. to buy the B stock for $7,415,000. Under exist- ing contract. National Theatres has the right to meet the offer and buy the stock at the same price.. With $43,560,000 cash and bonds in the theatre company's coffers no financ- ing would be necessary. RKO Execs to Coast Dudley Nichols is slated to return to the Coast next Monday (5), fol- lowing weeks of huddles in N.Y. with Eugene O'Neill on ftlmization of the latter's "Mourning Becomes Electra." Nichols will do the picture under his writer-producer-director contract with RKO. Ned E. Depihet, RKO prez, and Phil Relsman, RKO International veepee, flew to the Coast Monday (29) for huddles with studio execs. ENT. PLANS WORLDWIDE SALES, DISTRIB SETUP Hollywood, July 30. Enterprise is mapping its own worldwide sales program, in addi- tion to its Universal distribution agreement, following discussions here between E. P. Gomcrsall,' Uni- versal sales manager for Enterprise,' and the Charles Einfeld-David Loew setup. Company will establish four offices of its own in as many key cities, with district managers in New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles. Loew shoves oft for London in September to huddle with J. Arthur Rank on the appointment of, a for- eign sales chief for Enterprise, after which sales offices will be set up in key cities of Europe, U and htl Merge as Production Co.; Universal (Parent) To Distribute Sokly; Recendy-Fornwd UWP Dropped That It Is Chicago, July 30. Nomination for the dizziest picture stunt of the year in Chicago: . A two-column spread of Mae West in the sports section of the Chi Dally News Friday (26), in elevator shoes and wearing a black cape over a white street dress, surrounded by "Mr. Amer- ica" (Alan Stephan of Cicero, 111.) and "Mr. Chicago" (John . Farbotnik of Chi). Both Adon- ises are clad only in trunks. Occasion was the crowning of Farbotnik as the most perfect male specimen in Chi at a Cen- tral Athletic Assn. weight-lift- ing meet. Dimes-Red Cross Spurn Theatres 1-a-Yr. CoDection The March of Dimes and the Red Cross, two top national charities, have flatly refused to participate in a lumped one-a-year collections drive and have so advised film in- dustry leaders. . Coupled with the nix on the solo theatre campaign, M of D officials are asserting that a substantial part of the industry, op- posed to separate drives, is violating the industry, pledge to. President Roosevelt made prior to the 1945 M of D campaign. Pledge made by in- dustry reps to the President prom- ised "continued efforts in the fight against infantile paralysis until final victory is won and American chil- dren are freed from the fear of this menacing disease." Blanket drive would be disastrous for all participants since it would lack the dramatic appeal that can be tied to either the Red Cross or the fight against paralysis, charities of- ficials maintain. Consequently, the Red Cross has definitely decided to go on its own while conducting its theatre hat-passing on a local basis. M of D, still hopeful that exhlbs will agree to authorize a nationally spon- (Continued on page 22) JACK WARNER EAST FOR WB'S AX. CONY. With opening date of Warners' three-day international sales con- vention at Atlantic City set for Aug. 5, a flock of company execs, headed by Jack Warner, are converging on New York from all global points in time to attend the sessions, jack Warner, accompanied by his wife, is due to arrive in N. Y. on Saturday (3) preparatory to leaving for the convention city. : Other arrivals expected during the week include Arthur Abeles, Jr., from- Buenos Aires, and Ary Lima, from Rio de Janeiro. Others are Peter Colli, frem Havana; .Michael Sokol, Mexico City, and Armando Trucios. Lima, Peru. All are man- agers of their respective territories. Max Milder, g.m. of the United Kingdom territories, and Al Caplan, from China, landed in New York several weeks ago. Agenda for the convention will cover an outline of the company's product for the 1946-47 season and discussion of a revised sales policy to meet new conditions created by the recent anti-trust decree. As a welcome gesture to the delegates, numbering over 100. Warners' ex- ploitation department is launching a baby blimp from the Ambassador hotel, in Atlantic City, with. large letters, on the side reading, "Salute to 20th Anniversary of Talking Pic^ tures Convention." Major reorganization of the Uni- versale. Arthur Rank worldwide film empire was announced yester- day (Tuesday) in New York, follow- ing three weeks of huddles by the U-Rank hierarchy ' in London. Changes include: 1. Universal Pictures itself, as of Oct. 1, will become solely a dis- tributing organization, turning over its production activities to a new, wholly-owned subsid which will be formed by merging its production interests with those of International. New outfit, to be known as Universal International Productions, will be headed, by Leo Spitz as board chair- , man and William Goetz as president. Spitz and Goetz are present heads of International. ' . Universal Pictures is the overall parent company with N. J. Blum- berg, prez; J. Cheever Cowdin, board chairman, et al., as is. 2. United World Pictures, formed only six mopths agof and yet to re- lease its first picture, will be dis- solved. The eight Rank British-made pictures and eight International Pic- tures per year scheduled to be re- leased Via UWP (which was owned half by U and half by Rank) will be distributed by Universal. . 3. Westerns, serials and low- budgeters made by U will be elimi- nated and in their place U will dis- tribute 25 A features made by the new UIP, 12 pictures from Rank affiliates and five films from Enter- prise. In all, 42 pix. 4. Matty Fox, UWP "prez and (Continued on page 21) Bob Benjamin Commuted N.Y.-London Twice in Wk. Attorney Robert S. Benjamin, who serves as an official of United World Pictures, the J. Arthur Rank organ- ization in the United States, and Eagle-Lion, was virtually a New York to London commuter last week in connection with the U-Inter- national merger and death of UWP. Benjamin, In London with other officials of the companies involved for huddles with Rank, flew into New York in midweek and back to Eng- land over the weekend, crossing the pond twice in a matter of five days. Trad* Hark Registered FOUNDED BT 81 ME SILVERMAN Fablbhed Weekls by VAbTETY. lac Bid Silverman, President 1C4 Veil iSlh St,, New Tork 19, N. T. SUBSCRIPTION Annnal 110 Foreign Ill Single Coplee 31 Centa Vol. 163 a*^Hti»' No. 8 INDEX Bills 48 Chatter 55 Film Reviews 18 Foreign 18 House Reviews .:.. 49 Inside Legit 52 Inside Music 40 Inside Orchestras . .... 40 Inside Pictures 22 Inside Radio 36 Joe Laurie ......... 20 Legitimate 50 Literati 53 Milton Berle 2 Music 37 New Acts 48 Night ClUb—Reviews 46 Obituary 54 Orchestras ...... 37 Pictures 3 Radio :... 23 Radio Reviews ............. 20 Recommended Records....... 38 Frank Scully ;. 53 Television 30 Vaudeville 45 DAILT VARIETI (Pabllahed In Hollywood by Dally Variety, T.td.) 110 a Tear—ti: Foreign