Variety (Feb 1948)

riCTOUBS Jadson Paik Ruk Hits CU B.O^ Forces Deluxers to Play Reissues Chicago, Feb. 8. + The two-week ceiling on Loop lirst-runs' clamped on Chicago as a result of the Jackson Park decision Is now causing teiTiflc losses in the second most important U. S. terri- tory. The haymaker is hitting both the^istribs and thf important Bala-f ban Sc Katz deluxers with one ■ of the latter—the United Artissts—now forced to play reissues because the ceiling has brought oh a product shortage. The. theatre has dropped its tradi- tional fir.st-run policy to play "Jeze- bel," a Warner ■ Bros, oldie starring Bette Davis. In two weeks opera<- tions it's done some $20;000, which is exactly haU'-of what the -house averages on flrst-run product. 'Ifs due, of course; to the fact : that the two-week limitation has caused a far more rapid turnover of film and there just isn't enough to keep all top houses supplied with newcomers. . Latest move in the Chicago . Loop 'is the switching of the G«riick thea- tre to ttiird-run double-features at teduoed admission prices. The 900- seater lias been having difficulty getting product and has been run- ning reissues. . Balaban & Katz, owners of the house, claim the Jackson Park de- cree makes it impossible for the theatre to obtaifi new: flteos because the circuit must use available prod- uct for its larger houses. Prices will drop from 97c, to 67c., plus-tax. First "Barlesijue' in Color Hollywood, Feb. 8. "Burlesque," George Jessel pro- duction at 20th-Fox, will be filmed m Technicolor, -with the budget oh the Betty Grable-Dan Dailey starrer consequently boosted from $1,850,000 to $2,600,000. Film rolls March Iff and will be released as part of thfe company's 1945 program. Jes'sel, back frpm cafe personal appearances, is liow readying the picture, for which Lamar Trotti iS; doing the filial script.- Walter Lang will direct. 6 Majors Ordared To Produce Records Chicago, Feb. ?. Judge Michael Igoe, of the U. S. District Court, Chicago,, last week OKdered six major distribs to pro- duce .books to determine'if the Jack-!; son Park theatre! was^ being; 'charged dis?rimittatdty,: renUCls and if: Pio- nopoly' clearance periods still were maintained. , , :}'■■■■■■.,'•. Tom SlcConnell, JP*s. jattorriey, contended that the:' Jackson Park was paying higher rentals than a northside house, Defense attoriies;:s .. ^ ,»t , argued that the JP decree applied H-l°„^««°,5i «Bi ^P^T*""^ ' only to the Loop and South Side, .n»n« .r> • BjacK NaT- tjyj. jujjge Igoe dismissed this as "too narrow." He ulso said that it Me- Connell's charges Were .true, there "Daisy Kenyon" and cissusj' Even more heartbreaking to Para- mount sales staffers here was the | j^^^ ^een' "direct violation of the compulsory pulling of 'Boad to>-|g^.> . Hio," Bing Crosby-Bob Hope-Dotb- j^ge igoe ordered 20th-Fox, thy Lamour smasheroo, from the Loew'i Paramount, HKO, Warner State-Lake after two sensational b^os. theatres, and the Balaban & ^^n^B"^. ' P^'^'^'Katz circuit to bring in its records $57,000 dui-ing its first week at the ,5-^^. 20. Date is. that on which "the State-Lake and not much less the McConnell's peti- second. By ordinary standards, it < ti^n for contempt action against the would .have been good for four more majors and theatre chains. . . l-. , Paramount will ask today (3) that The aim then went to subsequent- the Jackson I%rk produce in court run theatres where, strangely all contracts and the records of rfe- enough,-, it did only slightly better geipls since the decree, Nov. 19, 1947. than it would have had it been per- Company will attempt to prove that mitted to play its natural full run its so-caUed "unreasonable" rentals at the State-Iiake. I%ramounters are fair in" View Of JJ"s upped estimate that "Rio" grossed in Chi- grosses with first run. cago, so far, -wliS»t ordinarily the i crtto Koegel, 20th-Fox counsel, and -company would' have- corralled in' Edward Johnston,' Paramount and rentals alone; In short, the loss was |- Balaban & Rati attorney, have in- "tecHfic. cidentally beeii dropped as defend- Moreover, there's no remedy seen I ants hi contempt charges slated to In playing a big fibn day^and-date ; be heard before Judge Igoe Feb. 20 in more than one Loop, house. Dis-1 jn the Jackson Park decree case, teibs were oon.sidering, that plan but However, Louis Phillips, Paramount home office lawyer, is still oamed. Ccntention is that he is ah em- ployee of Paramount, r&then; tfaap ad- visory; cbunsel; ■ CronynV 'Rope' Huddle Hume Cronyh, co-star of the re- cent "The Survivors," at the Play- house; N, y., planes to the Coast tomorrow (Thurs.) to sit in on shoot- ing of Alfred Hitchcock's production of "Rope," fo)f_ which Cronyn wrote the screen treatment from the orig- inal Patrick Hamilton play.. . Arthur Laurents has written the :screenplay. . - ■ ■' ABC Theatres To Start Video Nen^tdain Hollywood, Feb. 3: ABC Theatres^ operators of a newsreel theatre on Hollywood boulevard; are jumping into tele as the first newsreel chain to enter video field. Outfit' operates II Kousei in the state, including the Hitchinit Post. Several of the houses aire newsreel outlets. Boulevard house here will be pilot theatre for video, with others to be added as equipment becomes avails abler -Niegoti^^ons are underway with Jack Richards , local -custom receiver builder, for installation' of an enlarged projector tele set tor slkiwing on regular screen. Shows will begin with pickups of races and Other- special event8,thought to be of' inteiresit to audiences. To avoid legal, entanglements, there'll be no extra charge tor video performances, although they'll be advertised. System of presentation is subject to change -as improve- ments develop. Tom McConnell, attorney for Jack- son Park, is contending that the day- aud-date scheme is a violation of the ' decree. He threatens to file contempt ■ piroceedings against, the first distrib making that move. Clearance also is in the middle of a legal storm. Paramount is fixing a time lapse from- zero to 21-days between' Loop engagements, and those of. subsequent runs. Par's 'Clearance is- flexible, depending specifically on each .picture. McCon,. nell is battling any, clearance claim- ing the decree prohibits it in toto. Contempt motion which Judge Igoe will hear .Feb.:20 sHqmM determhie the point. Par Asks Cbi Court MJ^* Decree Move Chicago, Feb. 3. Paramount today (Tties.) entered 'in Chicago federal district cMirt\a move to strike from the DeLuxe theatre's anti-trust action those para' Metro Still Up in Air Od Chi Selfing Foficy Despite, reports that Metro was all set to resume selling pictures in the Chicago* territory, the company is reportedljf still up in the air on its sales policy under the Jacksw Faik decree. , "Green Dolphin Street" is the only film to be offered exhibs in the territory since the decree was handed down .last November. -Home- office sales execs and legalites, still huddling on the problem, hope book- ing of the picture will serve as an experiment for all future operation. •^Dolphin" opened on the Chi Loop this week. One of the chief proposals for operation is the selling of all films on a -' competitive-bidding basis. 2 m TRUST SUFIS mCHVLANDINDPLS. , Chicago, Feb. 3. New antittrust suits against major distribs and theatre chains have been prepared by: Tom McConnell, counsel for:, Jackson- Park theatre here. ■. ^ ..:*.:■ ■ '- :..■., ,. ~ First suit, in U. S. district court, Cleveland, involves Tuscarawas Amus. Co., Cleveland,, in action against majors and Shea theatres in Dover and New Philadelphia, O. Brief claims that majors, with ex- ception of Paramount and Warners, have refused to grant day-and-date runs to State house, Urichsville, O., with Shea spots , and asks, damages from period 1944 to present oi 0Ver< ^100,000. Theatre burned last April and was rebuilt recently. Second suit is being filed in Fed- eral court, Indianapolis,' for the Mar- cus Fnteh>rise C6., against Indian- apolis Amus. Co., and majors. • File states that Rite and'Zating-Egyptian houses were denied first-run pix, af- ter playing downtown locations, and that they -vrere discriminated against in favor of lAC houses. Theatres, bought last April, ask no damages. graphs relating to the Jackson Park ' similar to the plan recently estab decree, and also from the Par case lished for Clii by 20th-Fox. Final now before the Supreme Court. Defendant's coimsel saidsuch suits are not relevant to the nabe house's action. Metro's Bally Briefings decision on the plan, however, has not yet been made. Philadelphia, Feb. 3. Catholics were reminded last week Third of Metro exploitation chief i that the prohibition on ."Seeing the William R. Ferguson's series of [ motion picture, "The Outlaw," which briefings of his field staff is schcd- [opened Friday (30) at the Pix the- uled for today ^Wednesday) at the atre, still stands. Hotel Astor, N. Y. Unlike the two j Most Rev. Hugh L. Lamb> auxiU- .previous meets, the New York aiy bishop of. the Archdiocese of session will consist of one day's con- Philadelphia, issued a Statement re- fabs only, ■ calling that it has been condemned Ferguson plans to hold the fourth absolutely by the National Legion of session in Atlanta next week and ' Decency, "The Outlaw" was with- ' will, probably follow with huddles drawn "last November by tlie Er- on the Coast the weds after. He'll langer theatre after the Catholic de- .jBpend two days on both of these, nunciation. 'ouflining ad-publicity plans with his "Fprever Amber," which also was staffers the first day and then con- banned, opened for a second run last ;taeting exhibitors, newspapers and week, in several Philadelphia. the- .radid statioijs ip, those areas the day atres. "Aniber" was later reclas- Wlldwing. . (Sified. Robert Roberts and Abraham Po- lonsky, toppers of Roberts Produc- tions, planed into New York from the Coast yesterday (Tuesday). They brought with them scripts of "Tucker's People" and "The World and Little Willie" for submission to John Garfield, who's associated with them in 'the indie producing outfit. Garfield declared he's tentatively agreed to star in both pictures' but will wait until he looks over the scripts before deciding. He said no decision had been reached yet -on whether Roberts would continue to work with Enterprise Studios, for which the production, outfit turned out "Body and Soul." Apparently reversing his decision to stay with "SkipiSer Next to God," his current Broadway Icgiter, as long as the show doe.s business, Garfield declared he now plans to stay with- it only "as long as it plays to ca- pacity." Having remained 'in the east more than three months hoW; he expects to return to Holljhui'Ood' to resume film work as- soon as he leaves "Skipper." Leo Dims Air Roars Hollywood, Feb. 3-. Frank Whitbeek, Metro studio ad- vertising head, reports that Leo the Lion is stopping roaring on the air. Effect is probably national, but slic- ing of paid *ds begins here with Chet. Huntley K,NX show. StudiO won't renew in*-March. ... Also cutting all spot comAlercia'l!!'. Majors in 2 Aj^ms on Ousels ^ Mk; Prov. Snits Settled Hollywood, Feb. 3. "Story ol Seabiscuit," story of the great xacebbrse, will ioUow "Silvej: Lininil? on William. Jacobs',-produc-. ing schedule «t Warners. Barry Fitzgeridd will 'star in the role of Tom Smith, trainer of the tiangtail, and Otta Kru|!er will ^laythe owner. David Butler, currently shooting "John Loves Mary," will direct both "Seabiscuit" and "Silver Lining." Nag will be played by three horses he has sired—Sea Sovereign. Fair Truckle and one bt his latest colts. Verdict Seen Bringing On Flock of Trust Soils Buffalo," Feb. 3. The grapevine has it that dis- gruntled, exhibs in this territory are now prepping as many ^s^ 20; tO; 2S Separate anti-trust suits involving many millions of dollars , in potential damages against the majors as a. re- sult of last week's victory by the Bor- danaro brothers. These exhibs have been holding back to see -how the Bordanaro Jlreres -would make out— they all claim to have'c&tise^-of ac- tion similar in nature. Second thodghts majr restrain some of them, but there's litfte dbuOt tliat unless the district federal court upsets the $84,900 verdict handed by a jury against Paramount, RKO and Warner Bros. Circuit. Management, the deluge will come. An applica- tioh is before the cdurt to set aside the veridct 'as contrary to the weight of evidence. Bistribs' lawyers think there's an excellent chance the ac- tions will still be tossed out. Number; of the defendants, includ- ing United Artists, Metro and 20th- Fox, .were let out by the jury. Ac- tion against Universal was dismissed by the court. Apparently, the jury was motivated by the thought that these companies had sold some prod- uct to the Bordanaros (a split with Warner theatres is some cases) in letting them off. Jury came in with a verdict of $28,300 which is trebled because the action is based on violation of the ; Sherman anti-trust law. That's con- siderably less than the $489,000 (when trebled) which the Bordan- aros asked in their complaint. Plain- tiffs had sued charging deprivation of flrst-nm product for -their Palace theatre. Clean, N. Y» ■ Legal Akirmishes over claimed percentage-chiseling capers by ex- hiba continued to crop Up this week. Two more groups of suits were filed In federal district courts while one other was ended after exhibs agreed to pay suras fixed as due. In New York, Metro and RKO brought separate actioa<! against Sidney Cohen, Philip Eisenbeig Rhinehook Ilieatres and Millerton Amus. Corp. Corporate defendants are units in the Bisenberg & Cohen circuit and owners of four upstate theatres. Houses involved are til* Starr, Rhinebeck; Pine Plains,'J%i| Plains; Millerton, Millerton; and Is, ceum* Red Hook. ■ ■ ' Complaint charges phoney box- office- retupw, on percentage pix from Jan. 30, 1848; to date. Phillips, Nizer, Benjamin 4; Krim rt.'.-idi^ljte < distribs,. In Boston, three separate actions were filed by Paramount, Metro and 20th-Fox. Named as defendants are Kenneth H. Forfcey; Edward, Harold and Simon MarkeU; and five corpo- rations allegedly associated with these individuals. .. Complaint states:; the - usual charges - of false returns from six houses, all in Massachusetts. They are the Strand, Canton; Mag- net, - Dorchester; Mattapan, Matta* pan; Park and Greendale, Worcester; and Porter Square, Cambridge. Sar- goy -& Stein are counsel for distribs;; with Nutter, McClennen^& Fish fronting in Boston. In Providence, meahwhOei eight other .actions brought by all majors, were dismissed" oh stipulation which stated defendants had accounted and paid amount agreed due. Suits had- involved the Castle, Mt, Pleasjant, R. I., and Majestic, West Springfield, Mass. • 4 TRffL£-DAMA(£ TRIALS BY APRIL 1 Attorneys for the majors sUtt won't baye a chance to catch their breath with the Bordanaro case in Buffalo out of the way. Four otlier triple-damage actions are set to go to bat before ,March is over besides a contempt hearing'hi the Jackson Park case. First slated is the McClendon the- atre suit, Dallas, March 1. Fifth & Walnut action, New York, is one day later. Theatco suit, San Francisco, is scheduled for March 8 but may be postponed ix no judge is available. Finally, in Buffalo, there the Rlvoli theatre anti-truster, March 29. Jack- son Park contempt hearing will be Staged in Chicago, Feb. 20. Four actions involve over $5,000,- 000 in treble-damage claims. Alkany Clearance Beef Albany, Feb. 3. The first clearance complaint brought before the American Arbi- tration Assn. tribunal in Albany during the past year was filed by Capitol City- Theatre Corp, operator of the Eagle theatre, against Paramount. Intefvenors are Warners' Delaware and Freedman & Orson's Colonial, which now have seven days' clearance over the Eagle. The Royal and Paramount, which are day-and-date with the Eagle, might be affected by the action. . Complaint charged the clearance was "unreasonable" and asked relief. At present, the Colonial is playing first-run foreign pictures but it nor- mally was a third-rUn situation. Leonard L. Rosenthal, attorney for Upstate Theatres, Inc., which books and. buys for the. .Eagle,-filed the action !for Joseph Grand;,<who .bwni and operates the Eagle; - „, • i ■ ; NAT! THEATRES MULLS IM£:l!i, 16M POLICY JpTollywood, Feb. 3. Four-day meeting of National The^ atres (20th-FQX) division proxies, execs and department heads ends ThUrsday .night (5) at the Ambas- sador hotel here. Subjects discussed yesterday (Mbii.) included drive-in competition- and the 16m threat. Circuit execs agreed to keep a close watch on drive-ins, and to fry- to stay ahead of outdoor hoiuses by strong showmanship tactics. They also declared, that narrow gauge film has gotten out of hand Jjccause of indiscriminate' licensing. But they developed no plan to cope with the situation. . ' No hasty steps wlU be taken re' garding television, but the theatre men'will continue to study and an- alyze the situation. NT has a special tele lab where regular- w-atch will be kept on all developments. The show- men believe thai large screen pro- jection is not too far off. Answers Exhibs On Service Complaints Complaint raised by Allied Thea- tre Owners of Eastern Pennsylvania^ that 20th-Foje had trimmed its Phila- delphia sales staff to a point where exhibitors , fail to get the attention they need was denied this week by 20th assistant sales chief William C. Gehring. According to Gehring, 20th has conducted an exact survey of each area and believes it is ade- quately covering e^ch territory with sufficient men, Allied, declaring that "Fox is on the merty-go-round," said the com- pany was exercising a "typical pcnnywisc-pound foolish" policy by cutting its Sales staff. Unable to maintain contacts with salesmen to properly negotiate bookings. statement said, "exhibitors just can'-t afford to Wpste time, and reports from the territory are definite that visits- of the. Fox salesmen are be- coming more and more infrequent. Gehring declarfcd that 20th knows exactly the number of cxhib con- tacts each salesman must malie in order to handle all sales pos.sibilities. He pointed out that it's often un- necessary for a salesman to visit each exhib eve'rjr time there is a new picture to offer, citfiig the num- ber, of exhibs who operate more than one house and. so can book for them all si?nultaneously. Company, said, has no plans whatsoever for ■negotiating-kiail order bcokinjfs and <will contiBUe<to Maintain all neces- sary exhib'-cehttfcts.