Variety (Aug 1948)

ii. pictures Wednesday, AugHBt 11, 1948 Fdm Salesmen's Union and Major Distrfts May Work Amicable Deal Winding up the first phase of* negotiations for a union contract to cover the nation's 1,000 film salesmen, the Colosseum of Film Salesmen and industry execs sus- pended talks Friday (6) in a friendly" atmosphere. Both sides •greed to the suspension in order to study all counter-proposals be- fore resuming negotiations next week. Discussions are expected to be drawn out over a period of weeks before a settlement is reached. Both the salesmen's guild and Pacific Drive-In Plans Suits Vs. Anto Theatres Hollywood; Aug. 10. C. A. Caballero, head of Paci6c Drive-In Theatres, Inc., reported his firm is planning suits involv- ing the basic Hollingshead Drive- in patents against a number of auto theatres here. This company, which operates under an original •patent, is mulling infringement major company reps Wfacing the! su * te "gainst drive-ins in Clear- hurdle of writing a new union con- tract from the ground up with dif- ferences cropping up over every clause, both- major and minor. But according to an industry rep, both sides are cooperating in a "give Mid take" spirit which should speed up matters considerably. It's understood that Colosseum has presented the industry with a sweeping- series of demands involv water, Foothill, West Los Angeles, Keseda as well as several circuits operating drive-ins. Caballero charges that theatres were constructed under the Josse- rand improvement patent, which he asserts is an infringement on the- basic -Hollingshead patent. In a move separate from the planned infringement actions, he has asked, the Department of Justice to de- ing substantial wage boosts, strict t'Jh^rn m «~ wnioritv H 9IIW »n<< inr^orf the Gilmore dnve-in, the Vealey I at Pomona and a site owned by ithe same group in-Sah Fernando Valley. seniority clauses and increased expense allowances. Industry lead- ers, however, are confident of reaching a satisfactory compromise since it's only natural, as one exec put it, for a new union "to reach for the sky" in its first contract negotiation. Colosseum was for- mally certified to act as bargaining agency by the National Labor Re- lations Board only last week. Leaders of the Colosseum com- mittee headed back to their nation- al headquarters,Friday (6) in Chi- cago to report on progress to date. Committee includes Melvih Keller, 2 More Chi Nabes Settle Under Jackson PL Ruling Chicago, Aug. 10. The Rivoli and Rockne theatres' anti-trust suits, sequels to the Jack- son Park action, were settled out of court last week with northside nabes getting, undisclosed sum and upped playing time for dropping their $900,000 triple damage ac- tion. Paramount, Metro, HKO, 20th, Universal, and Balaban & Katz okayed the agreement, with Warner Bros, and United Artists expected to sign in the next few days.- Still named as defendants are Columbia and Essaness Circuit who are expected to sign pact with- in the month. inside Stuff—Pictures Dave Bamholtz, absentee Pittsburgh exhibitor who now makes his home in Los Angeles and formerly worked for years as a Universal salesman in Pitt, has a chunk of the new Fay Kanin play, "Goodbye My Fancy," which will star Madeleine Carroll on Broadway. It's going to be produced by playwright's husband, Michael Kanin, in association with Aldrich & Myers. Barnholtz, who moved to Coast during the war got interested in "Goodbye My Fancy " through strange set of circum- stances. He lives in same apartment as Kanin's parents and had be- come quite friendly with the older people. He met Mike and Fay there, heard about the show and wondered if they needed some dough. They did and Barnholtz invested. He owns some Pittsburgh theatre proper- ties in partnership with Mervis Bros. Chicago, Aug. 10. Chicago Motion Picture Oper- ators Union, local 110, which has Warner Bros hranrfi Mle<™ fl n in tbe hi « llest wa S e scale in the Warner Bros, branch salesman in j colmtrv a i rea dy, won another hike Into Union Fund Portland, Ore:, as chairman;. N. M. Provencher, United Artists sales- man in Milwaukee; Frank Flaherty, Columbia, Chicago; and David Beznor, counsel. Pat Scollard, Paramount labor relations exec, heads the industry group which in- cludes Harry Buckley, UA; Charles O'Brien, Metro; Joseph. MacMahpn, Republic;. and Burton A. Zorn, counsel. NLRB Certifies Film Salesmen's Union Rep Washington, Aug. 10. The NLRB has officially certified the Colosseum of Motion Picture Salesmen as the bargaining'agent for salesmen, of all major film dis- tributors, except National Screen Service. The Board said it had dis- missed the union's petition for certification at National Screen be- cause salesmen there voted against the union 32 to 19. Following official results were given: Paramount, 66 for, 15 against; Columbia, 81 to 19; United Artists, 61 to 10; Eagle Lion, 45 to 13; Republic, 61 to none; Universal, •m to 7; 20th-Fox, 76 to 8; Loew's, 43 to 30; Warner, 80 to 8; RKO. last week. Scale, which ranged from $2.40 to $3.93 per hour, is being upped 10%. However, pay will not go into operator's pocket but into a fund which will provide disability benefits, retirement pen- sions of not less than $100 per month for life, vacation fund for members of two weeks, and in- creased sick and death benefits,, Pact covers 363 theatres and over 700 members. Eugene Atkinson, business agent for the union, said that provisions complied fully with the Taft-Hartley act. Members had previously been assessed for death and sick bene^ fits, with Atkinson estimating that reduction of levies would cut members cards' cost from $80 to 100 a year. Fund will be jointly managed by three union officials and three theatre management fig- ures, and will run for five years. Hoffman Continued from pace 2 s one against. book reviewer" as telling him that current novels are spiced up with "sex, passion and crime" to get big- 81 to 18; and Monogram. 1J for, <Tr\^Z%°^ P "? S \ T *£*?I I £?" |er. said Hoffman, declared that the i "difficulty with the motion picture l industry is that altogether too I many of those who select the plays t and plots have dirty minds them- selves, and having that kind of a mind, they think the people like that kind of sordid nastiness." brought about by the state of the ! - "Perhaps he is right," the Miehi- domestie b.o. and restrictions gan Republican continued, "I do abroad, were so great that only 1 not k _" ow - Perhaps some day those two classes of producers could be 1 wno duect the motion picture in expected to operate in the future. ! dustrv will discover that the Amer Eddie Small Continued from page 3 lA'sPre-Gonvensh Meetmgs Start Cleveland, Aug. 10. As the exec board of the Interna- tional Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees began meeting in closed sessions today (Tues.), on pre- convention business, the vanguard of 1,100 delegates to the IATSE's nation;!! convention are pulling into town for the opening gavel at Municipal Auditorium Monday (16). Facing the most peaceful con- clave since the Browne-Bioff ma- chine was kicked out of IATSE, the exec board has been discussing, routine pre-convention business, sundry appeals from IA locals and the convention agenda. It's re- ported that two of the most prom- inent-points on that agenda will be television's impact upon theatrical union organization and the Anglo- American dispute over film playing time in Britain. IA prexy Richard »F. Walsh will cover both questions in the opening "President's Report" to the delegates. No opposition to the incumbent slate of officers is expected to rear its head at the convention. Other major, points to be placed before the convention include fu- ture organization of . 16m workers, jurisdictional agreement with ra- dio unions or video problems, pos- sibility of trading a pay raise re- quest for an industry-wide pen- sion and recommendations for op- position to the Taft-Hartley Act. Guest speakers at the convention will include Eric Johnston, Motion Picture Assn. of America prexy; Thomas J. Herbert, Ohio governor- and William Green, AFL prez. Prior to the convention's opening, 14 district conventions of IATSE locals will be held at the Hollenden hotel, here. Walsh, meanwhile, has extended an invitation to Con- gressional members to attend the national convention to combat the "distorted picture as to the power of labor leaders in America." International problems facing labor will be brought into focus through the presence of Tom O'Brien, general secretary of the National Assn. of Theatrical and Kine Employes and member of British Parliament. He'll report on the interchange of British and American technical workers. Role of U.S. labor in the forthcoming political elections will be reported on by Joseph D.-Keenan, head of Labor's League for Political Educa- tion, of which Walsh is a member. During, the man shortage caused by the war, women received their chance to become theatre managers and they have, made good, accord- j ing to E. V. Richards, chief of the Paramount-Richards chain in Loui- ! siana, Mississippi, Western Florida and Alabama. Richards, writing in ] the American mag, said that a majority of his 60 theatres are still ; headed by women who have given his houses "a more-homey, informal I atmosphere." The circuit now employs 888 persons whose work brings j them into contact with patrons, and only 35 of these are men. I Invention of a revolutionary type of film reel that eliminates re- winding, is claimed by a Brooklyn designer, John P. Coulon.. In a : statement last week He said: "I have not tried to market this reel nor have I offered it for sale to anyone . . . but would like the trade's opin- j ion of such a reel." In his description of the gadget he says not only ' does it do away with rewinding, but makes it possible to operate a projector with only one reef, affords continuous automatic projection and is a genuine reel—not an attachment. Death last week in New York of film pioneer Pat Powers temporarily has shelved plans of Frank Sinatra and Homo Vincent to remake a number of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle comedies for television Powers who controlled rights to the Arbuckle pix, was to have been partnered in the video project. Meanwhile, the deal is cold pending settlement of the estate. Original setup called for Vincent to step into the Ar- buckle roles. United Artists is ready to crack down on fly-by-night indie producers who have been announcing that they are making pictures for UA re- lease. George Bagnall, UA veepee, was informed by a Los Angeles bank that an indie producer had tried to promote a loan on the claim that he was making a film for UA distribution, backing it up with news- paper clippings. From now on, the company will keep an eye on all such phoney news releases and take steps* against the offenders N.Y. Collarites ican people like pictures which are clean and wholesome, that they do- not care for barroom scenes, that they do not care for any of those things which a dissolute, decaying nation sometimes sanctions. It would be a relief if we had at least one picture house in each town or ? h A. £ f c ?? d _? 0U P» s ? maU . s / id ; <*y whe C e only cCptor^ modest actions were portrayed, where there were no words, sen- tences or phrases of double mean- ing, where the reward went to the decent, the honest—the attendance One is that group which can be counted almost on the fingers of one hand—Goldwyn, Selznick, Sol Lesser, Small himself, etc.—who have proved themselves to banks and financial sources over the years. consisted of men of independent wealth amassed outside the film Industry, such as several-Texas oil millionaires who have recently evinced interest in Hollywood pro- duction. These are people who can fn Time wiu'ld educate C the^uroXfr afford to "take a flyer" with their | era as to what the American pic- own backing, the producer ex- ture audience really wanted" plained. At another point. Hoffman said Thus eliminated, he said, are, the filmgoer wants to be enter- the promoters who, during the i tained, and not see "so many prob- lush war years, found the banks 'em plays, so many" plays with too a soft touch for loans and had lit- j much dialog, which leaves a bad tie trouble lining up second I taste." money. Continued from page S EL TO MMSS. RANK'S TBHf INSTEAD OF U "Blanche Fury," J. Arthur Rank Technicolor film originally allo- cated to Universal for release in the U. S., has been taken over by Eagle Lion in a last minute switch iu plans. Film, starring Valerie Hobson and Stewart Granger, did not fit into U's release program, according to company officials. EL has slated it for a special pre-re- lease run at the Sutton, New York art house. U's Prestige unit, meanwhile, which handles most of the Rank films usually grooved for arty au- diences, took on three more pix this week. They include "End of the River," starring Sabu and already booked for pre-release runs; "Her Man Gilby," starring Michael Wilding and Peggy Cum- mins, and "Corridor of Mirrors." Small was in New York for huddles with Harry Kosiner, his n .. J-°; s Angeles. ?350,0(H) Chi Outdoor Tlreatre calesmanager and eastern rep, and w„ \ £? U -J>° der " Chicago, with execs of the four companies ! Co*o cL^rtl\ S J he f tre Nor J, h * Avenue Outdoor through which he distributes - i „ ° W P i nnn i£ S»"i?.l uc «? n ^ a op ! n .? d Aug - 6 - u $350,000 20th-Fox, Eagle Lion, Columbia : f„T'o^ ud United Artists. ' i near here ' * beach town jF i n n k ed by bvlnK GaU and Frank the major companies, following UA's lead, will refuse to sit down with SOPEG. No company replies have been received thus far to SOPEG's request for pact renego- tiations, but SOPEG prexy Sidney Young minimized this fact's im- portance by declaring, "There's plenty of time between now and Sept. 27." SOPEG-SPG Pitch In any event, SOPEG is deter- mined to hang on to its control over homeoffice employees. To- gether with the Screen Publicists Guild, SOPEG has organized a "screen strategy and bargaining committee" to combat Local H-63 and urge the industry to come to terms. Denied protection of the National Labor Relations Board due to its failure to comply with the Taft-Hartley law, SOPEG has indicated its intention "to use all the economic strength at its dis- posal" to maintain its position. SOPEG claimed a major victory last week with signing of a new 2V£ year contract with Eagle Lion granting a 1Vz% wage .increase to about 100 workers with future raises tied to a cost-of-living index. Wages will go up or down every six months, depending upon the index figures. Rebutting SOPEG's claims, Local H-63 said the EL con- tract was a complete rout for SOPEG since it abolishes the maintenance of membership pro- visions and, in effect, establishes an open shop. Election for a bargaining agency for UA employees, hanging fire for two months, was finally put into the lap of. NLRB regional director Charles Dowel last week by hear- ing officer Arthur Younger. If Dowd orders an election, only Local H-63's name will appear on the ballot due to SOPEG's anti- Taft-Hartley law position. Local H-63 will use this fact as its ace- in-the-hole in its drive to push SOPEG out of the other companies. Schlaifer'* Father Stricken Omaha, Aug. 10. Charles Schlaifer, 20th-Fox ad- publicity chief, rushed to his home here- to be at bedside of his stricken 80-year-old father, pioneer Oma- han, Abraham Schlaifer. Other members of the family also were summoned. He fell last Wednesday (4) and suffered a broken hip, with com- plication developing. His condition is critical. Par's 1¥ Continued from page 9 — television for bigger deluxe thea- tres almost as fast as any direct pickup of a televised event. Full im- port of the development is expected to be revealed in the next few months at the N. Y. Paramount, flagship of Par theatres. When the time is ripe (all legal aspects and exclusivity have been ironed out), this key house will be able to bally having straight televising of big events when "booked" into the theatre. The new speed sys- tem is expected to be gradually extended to other key Paramount houses as co-axial cable networks expand over the country. Some idea of what this super- fast film-TV means was revealed last week at preem of "Beyond Glory," Alan Ladd starrer about West Point, when some 300 up- perclassmen from U.S. Military Academy attended that Par, N. Y., unveiling. Not oAly was the ar- rival of the cadets at the theatre picked up but later a TV camera was focused from a theatre box on the actual theatre audiences. This was flashed on the screen right after the earlier material, was run off. Also material taken by TV camera in Central Park with the West Pointers participat- ing in skits, with N.Y. femmes was shown. Few in the audience realized at first that they were being • tele- vised untU the material was actually flashed on the screen. The- surprise of seeing oneself on the screen only a few instants be- fore- actually picked up by the TV brought the greatest applause re- action since Paramount theatre, N. Y., started using wide-screen television coverage on special events and selected prize fights. With Paramount now having a widescreen television system per- fected and actually tried out in theatres, the company is expected to take advantage of having the jump on the field by rushing in- stallations in all key houses where desired or where there's a link with a coxial cable lineup. Par is having a tough time supplying its own theatres with the system be- cause of slowness In getting essen- tial materials and having outfits manufactured Reported that the new system would be made'available to other majors, just as soon as equipment can be turned out, because Par executives are convinced that it has a new revenue - producing gadget ot wide scope.