Variety (Nov 1948)

FfCTUWES Wedmescbiy, NoTcndber 1948 'fM Fare Hnrts BoxoTkc^ Stb Pressure Groups, Say Can. Edub Toronto, Nov. 2. SIrmc protests that too many! "wdult entertainment" fiims we being released to the detriment of ' the boxoffice, and that sueh prod- uct is arousing the publiciied ire of Catholic Church and business- men's organizations, highlighted the annual meeting of tlie Motion Picture Theatres Assn. Members propose drawing up a new con- tract form whereby exhibitors will not have to accept so many "adult entertainment" films as are now claimed cun-ent. Overshadowbig such other dis- cussion topics as television probr lems, amusement tax, the forth- coming music royalty increases Mid -leni. competition, consensus of 313 theatre managers here was that film producers must be warned of the hazai-ds of too sophisticated film fare which is "chasing away film-goers." (MPTA membership includes tlw "Big Tluree" chains—Famous Players Canadian, Odeon (Bank), and 20th Century Theatres—plus Independents.) Too large numbers of films deal- ing with insanity, hysteria and «>ther pathological overtones are losing the exhibitors aa.increasr lug number of patrons who used ' to be regular attenders, said HL C. D. <Diclc) Main, MPTA pres^ Ident. "Because one such picture Teciiiii's $m6,905 Net Technicolor's net profit for the nine months ended Sept. 30 scored a small gain over the equivalent period last year. Company has reported a take of $1,276,905 against $1,146,363 in '47. Earnings were equivalent to $1.39 per share compared to last year's $1.25. Third-quarter profits Were sliced i somewhat as against the second- quarter net because of a tempo- rary slowdown of operations due to cutting in some of the machin- ery which is part of the expansion program slated for completion by the end of the year, according to 0r. Herbert T. Kalmus, company prez. Indies DoDmate Drive-Iiis,OwD515 Of756intlieU.S. A PIe«Mir« Arthur Krim, pre« of Eaglo Lion, -beliews that his com- pany't "Canon City," which Bryan Foy produced, will prove to be the most j^ofitaWe mm made bf Hollywood In 1948. The pic, released early in the summer, will show a worldwide gross of $2,000,000, Krim said. Production costs of "Canon" came to $350,000. "It's a real pleasure to sell the film,'" he said, "because at its low cost we are able to dis- tribute it without slugging the exhibitor on terms and still make a handsome profit." Eagk Uons Krim Has Ifis Own Ueas on Picture Star Vdhws yAnanl^Kedh Plea Ts. Majors ■ Philadelphia, Nov. 2. Judge William H. Kirkpatrick, in \ Federal district 90ui^, has turned down the plea of William Goldman, indie exhib,'that Warner Bros, and 10 other major distribs and pro- ducers be ordered to divest them- selves of theatres in this area. Kirkpatiick also declined Gold- man's request for an order in an 'alternative motion, barring the i majors- from cross4icensing films. [The device, Goldman charged, en- to HymaiBro&'AtoiiikClHmi Oakridge, Tenn., Nov. 2. Four theatre! in this atomic re- search center operated by the V. S. Government during the war are being leased to Abraham and Solo- mon Hyraan for private operation.; Government built the theatres ran them for the benefit of project workers but now is pulling. out, of- the exhibition business. 1 Hyman Bros, once held an RKO ! franchise in this temtory. They ; presently operate five houses in Huntington, W. Va., in partnetsliip iwith RKO. Spedid Depts. ToPhig Oldies AsFdl-inFare Establishment of a special; re- issue sales department last week by 20th-Fox, paralleling the reissue wing of Metro's sales organization, points up the fact that, despite a , . aWed the Itoger , companies I With affiliated and major cir-| j,iock first-run i^ms lrotn his ih^ ' cuits kept in check by Government houses. antirtrust actions, indie operators I Bj^fusal of the motions doesn't I promKe of inore n^w fea^^ are Increasing takuig the initia-! gftect Judge Kirkpatrick's de-I jor distributors- wll still place j tive in theatre eicpansion' and gen- !:^tsion in the original case, in which : plenty/of emphasis ,on reissues to, Is favorably received rtocsnt mean eral business enterprise. This phe-., he ordered that pics bo distributed flU the playdate gans. that the average film-goer wants nomenon is strikingly revealed in , by competitive bidding and gave I Situation emphasizes anew the to see ."jO more pictures on the lame theme," he said. . Royalty Fee Deadlock ; ■ On increased music royalty fees, MPTA and the Composers, Au- thors and Publishers Assn. of Canada are still deadlocked on the 1949 scale, according to N. A. (Nat) Taylor, president of 20th Century Theatres i84 houses in Ontario). Taylor traced, off the .jrecord, the "fantastic ideas" of CAPAC in settuig new fees but ■aid that, as negotiations were still proceeding, details couldn't be disclosed ,18 to the proposed CAPAC seat-lee sehediilr or what MPTA would be satisfied to pay. Though Canadian exhibitors pay a : lower fee than U. S. the ASCAP decisions ■ (.Continued on page 16) the small indie's two-to-one dom- i (joiaman a triple-damage verdict, faltering boxoffice condition \yhich on m. the field of dnve-m the- ^f $375,000 under tht Clayton Act. ' finds few films grabbing oft' any t—the most important develop- [ Today's decision, however, is a , extended playing time such as in ment in exhibition circles since the 1 iQgal victory for Warners and its I years past. As a result, a pressing end of the war. Figures eom^ptled by the research 10 associates, the target of several! need for a greater number of pic- suits by Goldman. Judge Kirk-1 tores than the studios are appar- department of the Motion Picture ■ patriqk will hear another phftse of lently able to produce has cropped I15M00O GROSS NOW SPELS BLACK FOR E Gross revenues for Eagle Lion during the current year wiH hit between $15,000,000 and $16,000,- 000, Arthur Krim, EL president, •aid this week. During 1948, second ftiU year of its existence, EL has doubled the rentals garnered dur- ing '47, which came to about $8,- iWOiOOO. For the past 15 weeks, the company has been operating in thei profit side of the ledger, Krim said, except foi small amortization on pix turned out during its .first Six months. ■ . "Since June 1, not counting B's; nine out of the 12 big films re- leased by the company will pay back their negative costs and show • profit," EL prez declared. "Wo feel that we are now definitely on the right track.'* .. Explaining'the company's-finan^ cial situation, Krim disclosed that the $11,000,000 in^loans which EL obtained through its parent Pathe Industries from a syndicate headed by the First National Bank of Bos Assn. of America show that put of a national total of 756 drive-ins. in-' dependent exhibs own and operate 515, or 68.1% to 31.9% for the cirr ' cuits. The indie di'ive-ins are smaller on the average than the circuits' .but the former still have ; a far larger total' capacity with parking space for 188,523 ears as against 124,855 for the former. These figures contrast with the indie exhibs status in regular , the^ exhibitors, I atre ownership figures also corn- there will . piled .by the MPAA last spring; Here," the indie hold a slight ma- .iority in number of theatres 0\vned with 10,224; as against 8,983 for:the circuits. The circuits'^ domination of the indoor exhibition field, how- ever, is indicated by their heavy seating preponderance witb.'7,539,- 162 seats, as against only ,4,657,826, for the indies. the litigation tomorrow (3), when' up within the industry. Because he has scheduled arguments on a continued high production costs motion by Warners, et al., eon- have limited the major's issuance eerning the distribution of their of new pictures, distribs have been own films. The majors have asked.; forced to turn to reissues; for a ruling on whether the com- | Creation of the reissue depart- pelitive-bidding order applies to ment by 20th salesmanager Andy After a full year of combining his duties as president of Eagle Lion with the new chores as pro* -duction chief for the compatiy, Arthur Krim has reached the con- clusion that plenty of players "are stars in HoUyvrood but not in Kala- maxoo." Krim, whose company haS'.registered a sharp climb in revenues during the past 12 months, admits his outfit found out the hard way. "We made mistakes the first year by taking qn players who add noth- ing to the boxoMce," Krim said. "As a result, we made films which were costlier than they had to be because we wanted names. Later; we learned these names meant little or notliing when the film reached the theatres." ; Krim breaks down the Holly wood. star situatioa into four groupings. 'There are tho$e players, a very small number, who can carry a picture and make it profitable by their own pulling power alone. A second group consists of those who cannot make a picture on their own but. given a good film, can bring in more than the cost of tlreir sal-> aries in added grosses," "Third," Krim said, "are those who neither add nor detract from the film. The great bulk of stars fall into this grouping. Fourth, are those called stars in Hollywood and : rightly so because they are known to the pnblic but who actu-. ally keep people out : of the ' theatres." ■ Krim wants to draw from the top group for four or- five films an- nually. Company, he said, will seek big stars rn the freelance field. . He conceded that the majoiMtudios have the advantage of films de- pending mainly on star attraction "rightfully so because these studios built them, up over the years." 2 Other Catesiories "There are two other brackets of successful films, those which de- (Continued on page 16) films which are produced and dis- tributed by the same company. COL LEVINSON WINS S.L WARNER AWARiy Washington, Nov. 2. i The Samuel L. Wai-ner Memorial I Award was copped the past week lat the convention of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers by [by Col. Nathan Levinson, technical director of WB. He was one of five W. Smith, Jr., indicates that the [ company : will renew its distribu- tion pacts with very few of the in- I die producers whose product it I handled during the 1947-48 season. [Renewal of the pacts has been a source of runnurg debates between . (Contiilu'ed on page 14) METRO READYING BIG PUSH FOR 25TH ANNI by exchange areas puts Charlotte in the lead with 108, followed by Dallas with 78, Cincinnati with 55 and Atlanta and Cleveland with 51 ■ . Metro ad-.publicity Veepeie How* ..~ 3rd Dietz will serve as coordinator Breakdown of drive-in theatres IJ'^'j^g"'honored with a malor ^ betw een the studio and homeoffice ■ ' at/tjjg gjjpE banquet. : |iii lining up plans for the, com- Citation mentioned Levin-'pany's 25th anniversary celebra- son's "long and successful career tion next year. Dietz was supposed ■ . „ . Tr 1 t i,. in radio communications as well to have returned from the Coast apiece. New York has among the,as so„„d motion pictures." It over the weekend but stayed for fewest drive-ins with only 10, while ■ ^^mied to his role in "the devcloo- further huddles with studio pub- 2f'^fn°t^„f H',:?if;°%^^^'!fi\^ menl Of M^visiin for thcaCe uL liclty chief Howard Strickling. He's 21 iVTn<;t nf (hP H,„.p.,nc v„„ o ^ producUon of ,"ow due back at the homeoffice motion pictures." ; today (Wed.). , . Citation Was read by outgoing i Present plans, which are still in president 'of SMPE, Loriin L. By^^the formative stage, call for all the der, sbund director of Paramount 1 subsidiaries of tfee parent Loew's, Picfilres. {Inc., to be ttirned loose in a mass . . ■ I campaign grooved foir general pub- llic and rtra^e, consum^ : Studio 21.. Most of the drive-ins run on a single-feature policy with thi'ce or four program changes a week. Indie exhibitors are also far in the;, lead in current drive-in con- struction. Out of a total of 86 now being built, non-circuit operators are responsible for 59 as against 27 for the circuits. The largest number of drive-ins being built are centered in Los Angeles with 11, and Atlanta and Boston with 7 apiece,;: St. Loo Exhibs Denied Mpls. lndi« Drive-ins - Minneapolis. Drive-in circuits are spreading here, independent exhibitors re- ■ an extensive; scale. Harold Field announced a new circuit of drive- ins in eight of 10 Io\ya towns, years where he now has regular theatres. Later he will build in two mother: towns. .■ '.v Field has set up a separate fiir- fContinued on page 16) ton has now been reduced to S8,-,cently starting to build them on 000,000. Of this sum, films will pay off $5,000,000 out of their revenues While the other $3,000,000 is on a longterm basis with five ■tO'.'gO. ■; Krim denied ireports that he was ! In New York for a new loan; While !■ here, he said, he had uorlwd out' ■n agreement with the banks to { li-ee $1,000,000 from suras accu- mulated by Pathe out of lilm reve- nues. Under the terms of its loan, BL must obtain the banks' okay before using that money for pro- duction purposes, ■ . Pointing up EL's rosy pro.spects, Krim said that the company be- tween, now and the end of the year had seven: films booked into the Odeon and . BritisIirGaumont cir^ ««its. These were double-billed •ither between themselves or with is expected to tuirh out a t\vo-reel short outlining the company's his- D • L C r . itory and accomplishments, similar KeVieW Dy iMip. tOUrt to the one produced by Warners last year to mark the 20th anni of sound.:';: ',-,,.'■■■;,; . ■:■. ::■;:'■■•■''''•', "■:■! Special disks at* to be'pressed by M-G-M Records, f^Stttrihg most of Metro's musical :stars. WMGSj; Loew's,; AM ; ahd; F^ : Stations in. New 'S'brk, will fiWg -the anni in a manner similar to : that iised to mark the station's recent change of call letters from; WHN; iforeigii departnlient, too, will advertise the St. Louis, Nov. 2. The U. S. Supreme Court last week . denied a: review of litigation reiitiested .by five St. Louis indie exhibitors, in. their anti-trust law complaint against four film, distrib- utors and the American Arbitration Assn. The exhibitors sued for $285,000 damages -and ; asked an injunction against Paramount Film Distributing Corp.; RKO Pryor Heads N.Y. Crix Amus. Co., St. Louis Ambassador New York Film Critics circle has Theatre, Inc.; Eden Theatre Co., elected Thomas M. Pryor of the St. Louis Missouri Theatre, Inc., N. Y. Times as its new chairman' and the Fanchon & Marco Service for the coming year. Wanda Hale. Corp. The appeal to the high Radio ^"''^ in idl overseas situations: Pictures, 20th-Fox, Warner Bros.' ,the sales department Di-stributing Corp., and the asso-, J'-'^"' " ,s„.«?.Pe<=t?,d elation " ;that M-G sales veepee Wiluam F. The plaintiffs were the St. Louis ! ^°^Sf"institute some kind n„ cf T^..4c A,«i,.,c.,j-„. of sales drive. Unlike othei maior major distributors, Metro hasn't staged a sales drive since its 20th anni celebration five years ago. The one in 1949 will probably follow that one' in attempting to get at Daily News, is vice-chah'raan, and tribunal was taken following dis- least a sinale reel fPAtiirinit thi t pn Dorothy Masters, same paper, sec missal of the exhibitors' complaint trademark on t^^^^^ ■in the lower Federal courts in St. :^„°!.„*:_ ^i^reen of eveiy P^vor takes over from Otis L. Louis. The Supreme Court h^-^^:.»':.^r^'^-^^'--^^ Guernsev, Jr., of the N. Y. Herald held the association is a valid, le- ■ - Trlbaiie,' stepping up from vice- ,gal system ;o| regulation, and rul- chairman. Meet ^so voted to ad- ings of , the association can decide •theV ■yanit'produVt.' M as new members Lew Schael-' disputes on clearance. The owners booking in England means a mini-ifer of the Brooklyn Eagle, Soy- of the Apol o^"^^^^'Li"**'^'^ mum of SeoofoOQ for 4 package, mour Peck of th* N. Y. Star, and, began the litigation m 1944, and Ki-iiB said. i Yglesias, Daily Worker, j the others, joined in. N. Y. to Europe Sir Ernest Fiske Robert G. Leffingwell Sam Prager Mrs. , Ruby JRbsenberg L. A. to N. Y. Edward L. Alperson; John Alton Florine Bale Barbara Bel Geddes Boy Brewer i Kathryn Brown ) Bob Burns Harry Cohn Joan Davis Bill Eythe Tommy Farrell Carl Fisher Matty Fox Peggy Ann Gamer Franklin Gilbert Monroe Greenthal Jane Greer Louis Hayward Bob Hussey William Katzell - Prankie I^aino Ed Lasker Janet Leigh Bemie Luber Gene McCarthy Patricia Morison^ ■ Pat O'Brien Frank Partos Jan Peerce William Pine Fred Pride Morris Safier Carl Schreuer " Frank Scully Douglas Sirk John Sutherland Esther Tow Spencer Tracy Jerry Wald Europe to N. Y. ■ Albert Bouche Jack Cohn Herb Golden Bernord Guro Sir Arthur Jarrat Leonide Kipuis Anna Neagle Joseph H. Seidelman Harry Alan Towers Herbert Wilcox Michael Wilding N. Y. to L, A. Harry Aekernian Joseph Bemhard George Cukor Bryarj Foy John Garfield Jack Kapp Carl Leserman Frank Loesser Paul Baibourn Charles Beader Charles M. Reagnn Stanley Shuford Joseph Szigeti , Ben Washer Joseph Winters