Variety (Dec 1948)

Wedamedaff December 15, PICTURES FEAR BRITISH QUOTA HIKE TO 60% Par s Qiances for Pre-Trial Deoree St31 Hot; 20th Also Continues Action Th« Showmen Who Created Thit Industry Haven't Suddenly Lest Their Talents Dor<; Schary * ■■ ■*■ ■■.*■. ■ fMtur* in 43d Anniversary Number Due Soon With new hearings in the Gov-, eminent anti-trust action looming just ahead, Paramount's drive for a pre-trial settlement went into high in extended meetings with tlie Dept. of Justice last week and this. Despite'reports that the confabs had eHded in a stalemate, a huddle was staged as late as yesterday (Tues.) with Special Ass't Attorney General Robert L. Wright in New York. Insiders consideired the meetings plenty hot vfith a possi- bility of settlement still strong. <In Washington yesterday (Tues,), at the same time as N. Y. huddles with Paramount execs continued, a Government spokesman s a i^ d there was no hope of settlement at this time. The case-would go on next week against all four defend- ants. He did not throw out th^ pos- sibility of negotiations continuing during the trial of the suit). Twentieth-Fox also continued maneuvering for a peace treaty be- fore the case again goes to bat i 'Monday (20). Internal problem is presented in the case of 20th since Charles P. Skouras, head of Na- tional theatres, has persistently balked at any agreement which would hack NT to pieces. Both Otto E. Koegel, company's general Counsel, and Dan Michalove, "NT's Veepee, are on the Coast huddling on a proposed consent decree. Re- : portedly, ■ duo are trying to work out a , proposal which would bp satisfactory to both Skouras and Government attorneys. Meanwhile, neither of the other Big Four—Metro and Warner Bros.—have shown any strong urge to come to an amicable arranger ment with the Government. Both companies, it's said, feel that their chances are better on a^ decision (Continued on page 20) BRIT. MAY LIFT HECHT BAN-BUT FOR A PRICE London* Dec. 14. Possible adjustment of the ban on pictures written by Ben Hecht „„uji,. li. i„i cn. i imposed throughout Great Britain j fi^l»»>» can take care of the prob- by Cinematograph Exhibitors Assn. Me.'ns on attendance if Hollwood Is seen in light of a recent state- IY»"'^fPit?.P™n«l ^^i^y f^on^ mpnt hv W B Fiillpi- ffpiieral sor- ™* wrong kmd. of headlines. Al- ment by W. K. FuUei, general sec \ ^.^^ ^^.^^ ^.jj .^^^.^^ ^^^j, studios', main, cpntei'n right ftow is the disciplining Of errijng playT ers and that exhibs are best , (Continiied on page 55) / YAiS MULL PIXE Allied Guesting AtPixPrezMeet Won't Be Polite If National Alliecrs pre.sent inr tentions hold until':;Tan. 26 when the film company presidents' series of meets get going in Hollywood, something of a rumpus - will be kicked up. Allied, invited .along with the Theatre ■ Owners of America to attend ? the huddles, plans to enter them with fists fly- ing; The tlieatre group is going to enter them with fists flying. The theatre group, is going to demand the immediate adoption: of the Fin- neran plain which would require ^ suspension of players who fail to toe the morals mark. Invitation to Allied asks the or- ganization to discuss ways of boosting theatre attendance and suggestions on how films should be bettered in quality. Reportedlyi the group is prepared to say that With indications growing that the present 45% quota in Britain might well be hiked to 60% next year, the great question facing the' American industry is: what: to do about it. Top execs in major for- eign departments recognize that the next big question—one that is bound to be bitterly fought over-^. will be on this question. | . The alternatives will be pretty much the same as when the Brit- ish imposed the 75% tax a.'year- and-a-half ago and when the com- promise $17,000,000 yearly settle- ment was reached with the Labor government last March. T h e choices are whether to embargo all further shipments to England or to accept the philsophy that ".some thing's better than nothing." ,Aim of totally cutting off the, supply of American films to British theatres would be, of courseT to force a crisis there and cause a iavorable settlement to be reached. There are many Yank industryites who felt that lifting of the embargo last spring, after the Eric Johnston- Harold Wilson compromise agree- ment, was a mistake. They opine tliat the; British industry was- near the point of being "brought to its Wilsoiif Johnston Meet London. Dec. 14. Board of Trade p r e x y Harold Wilson is proposing to meet Eric Johnston during a visit to America which he has scheduled for early in the New Year. Wilson has been a chief proponent of the policy of ■.. getting tough with the Yank industry, and his indicated plan to talk to the Motion Pic- ture Assn. of America prexy is looked on: favorably by U. S. . ■ film interests here. Wilson's trip is primarily ; : concerned with mother govern- ment business, but he said he would talk with picture indus- ■ try leaders oil mutual prob- : lems. First-Run Playoffs Now So Fast That Fix Get Bottlenecked At the Nabes Darryl Zaiiuck putt aecMl on The Waste That Doesn't Show On the Screen Is What Really Hurts * * * , one Qf tht. many fadturtt in 43d Anniversary Number Out Soon ■retary of the CEA. In a letter to I David Coplan/United Artists' man- j aging director here,. Fuller wrote : i "1 have no authority for making the | offer, but if Ben Hecht felt Ae I dividing his share of the profits I arising from distribution (of "Love ' Happy") in this country, shall we i say to the British Red Cross Socie^ | ty, I could put it forward for con-1 sideration." ' Fuller's proposal climaxed an ex Mayer-Schenck's Quickie Meet; Latter to Florida Metro studio chief ■ Louis B. Mayer returns to the Coast this knees" and a much more favorable settlement could have been reached by holding out. On tlie other handy many trade execs thought it was not morally or economically advisable to ."bring the British to their knees," even if it could be done. They thought it (Continued on page 15) With Boycott Off, More U,S. Chains Book British Pix Tlie boycott against British films wliich severely crippled tlieir box^ office power for many months-is now lifting. The Sons of Liberty, non-sectarian, group behind the buy^no-British agitation, is :no longer throwing picket lines around- theatres playing tlie Anglo imports, Reportedly; this organ- ization has recently agreed to bring no .further action to bear against either the: Yank, distribs of the films or' the' theatres booking them. With the greenlight hoisted on British pix, several important New York circuits that refused to play them in the: past j^ear or so have (Continued on page 22) Sales toppers who have been sub* jected to increased pressure by film company moneymen to pusli through faster liquidation of prod» uct are now being confronted with ' a new hurdle in the way of quick playoffs. With films showing « loss of extended playing-time in first-run, de luxe houses, product is backing'up to an abnormal point in both second-run and nabe situa- tions. The bottleneck is causing a slowdown in copping that essential coin which conies after the first- run. Situation in New York is being cited as one of the trouble spots on tliis score. Backlog of product waiting to be played in both first- run nabe circuits—Loew's and RKO—has now reached an un- precedented high point. In each" of these circuits, an average of 20 pix are lined up wailing for a hole in the schedule. This means a marking-time period in Gotham of anywivere from five to eight weeks before a film gets its dates/ Since all major pix- are. grooved through the two chains before reaching other houses in the metropolitan, ai-ea, it is causing m- delay down tire line. Newark is named as another in- stance of where film is being back- ■ (Continued on page 22) . TRUMAN ELECTION COST PIX STOCKS $21,153,572 Reelection,, of president Truman Stromberg East : ■ Producer ■ Hunt Stromberg ar- rived in. New York from the Coast over the weekend to spend two weeks working on plans for release of "Too Late for Tears,'' which he just completed. Stromberg is confabbing with execs at United Artists, which will put the film into distribution in March, and with Foo'te, Cone & Belding, which is planning the ad campaign,. I sent entertainment stocks spiraling j downward during November along with all other stocks listed on the I New York exchange. Prices of im- I portant amusement companies on j the exchange declined to the low- 1 est point since February of this ' year, reaching a total value of .$633,0(i5,459. It represented a dip of $21,153,572 from the prices quoted at the end of October. Average price of amusement' stocks came to $14.69 : on Nov. 30 against $15.18 on Oct. 30. Included in the average are common stock prices of all major film companies except United Artists, top radio nets and disk outfits. las M. Schenck and other h.o. execs. Mayer combined a quickie tuted by the CEA following a re- - LT^*"^,y^'/tL"^lf?<';'f!.nnf fhP ' honeymoon trip to New York with forthrnm na Mnrv^ I business, in order to catch Schenck 'Lol73y..^rU^^^^^^^^ •'''f-e the latter leaves tomorr CEA sought eonflrraation of the percentage deal. Reconstructed 'Ecstasy' Looks Set for U.S. Seal (Thurs.) or Friday for liis annual Florida vacation. Mayer will be accompanied to the Coast by his wife, the former Lorena Danker, and studio pub- licity chief Howard Strickling. Metro producer Artliur Hornblow, Jr.. meanwhile, trains back to the Coast today (Wed.) after liaving set finai arrangements with'.'Mayer and . Schenck for the filming of While the original version ' of Hedy Lamarr's Czechoslovakian- made, "Ecstasy''never played more _ „ than 250 dates in the U. S., more ' "Quo Vadis" in Italy. Hornblow ar Bookings are now anticipated as re-, rived in N. Y. last week from Eu- sult of a recent alteratiort job done I rope, where he had scouted loca- on the picture by its Czech produ- tions for tlie film cer-director Gustave Machaty. By making over about one-third of the print, a temporary seal has been obtained from the Motion Picture Assn. of America and final approval 4waUs-oniy the'TSfPAA's okay of a new title. "Major: Albert and '\Var-:i ner ' ' 1^rt>$: ■•, v.p. Sam.. Schneider arrived on the Coast Monday (13) w from New York to huddle with " 2"'*^ 5"*' ."""^ '^'^^^ ^^^^ Jack and ttarry W'arner on aspects of theatre divorcement. They are due to return by the end of tlie .week;:' ■ Trift . was hurriedii' .sch follpw^ihg :Jack's return'irotn .Pajni; SpriiigS,: whei^e he had been recu- perating' jErcfhiV a: serious, illjiess. Harry Kalmihe, WB theatres top- of new film for insertion in the original print, Machaty has super- imposed Miss Lamarr's likeness in church sequences, etc., in a start- Ungly authentic manner. Prlmaiy purpose in making the new footage ■i>? "justify Miss Lamarr's going with her lover." In addition, the „ actress now appears to be wearing ■ per, was unable 1o attend the Coast * bathing suit for all practical pur-1 sessions because of. .scheduled poses in the famed swimming meetings with district managers in "'cne- i the east. National Boxoffice Survey Pre-Holiday Lull Clips Biz —'Baby,' 'Musketeers,' ♦Hamlet,' 'House,' 'Tatlock' the Big Five Current session is experiencing the usual pre-Christmas lull, and even the bojcoffice leaders are way off from recent levels. Present week also is noteworthy for the ntimber of different production.s dated in key cities covered by Vahiktv. This is the tipoff on liow exhibitors are juggling their prod- uct around so they can open new pictures just around Dec. 25. "When Baby Smiles at Me" (20tli) switched places with "Three Musketeers" (M-G), climbing back into national leadership,' spot it held two weeks ago only to be sup- planted last week by "Mu.sketeers." The IMctro swashbuckler is not far behind "Baby" to land second money. These two pictures are get- ting about the only real coin this week. "Hamlet" (U) is doing strongly enough to finish third, moving up from fourth position. "Road TloH.so" (20th) has climbed back on the boxoffice bandwagon to land fourth position. "Tatlock'S Mil- lions" (Par) also has forged ahead to cop filth while "Roguch" Regi- ment" (Ui is sixth-place winner. Latter is incasuring up io promise shown the previous week. '•Blood on Moon" (RKO>, in seventh, and "Fighter Squadron" (WBi. in eighth Slot, round out the top eight classification. "Walked Ciooked Mile" (Col)', "Song I.s Born" (RKO). "Red River ' (UA) and "Hills of Home" (ftl-G) rate i-unner-up listing. Few of new pictures, launched despite offish season, show much I this week as to future po.ssibilities. "Words and Music" (M-GK how- ever, opened iip .big enough as the N. Y. Music Hall Christmas attrac- tion to hint great ' potentialities;J With big Hall Xmas silageshow, it will hit $148,000, great there even for a normal week; Another in- dicating sock biz on .liasis of initial pla^datc is "The Paleface" (Par:. New' Bob Hope comedy registered a robust total in St. Louis despite; sluggish trade elsewhere in city. "Return of October" (CoH; an- other new one, is spotty this week. "Cliristopher Blake" (WB) ha.-,n't done much so far. "Countes.s of Monlc Cri.sto" (U), while trim-in; St. Louis, is disappointing in San Franci.sco and Buffalo. "He Walked By Night" (EL) is doing nicely on Frisco moveovor. "Belle Starr's Daughter" (20th), fine in Portland, Ore., looks only fair in Seattle, "Plunderers" (Rep) shapes solid in Chicago. "Good Sam" (RKO) is doing nicely in Louisville and Monlreal. "Black Arrow'! (CoI)-is modest in Boston. (Comolrte Boxoffice Reports on Pages 9-11) Tra(]e Mfirlt Ttotflstovcd rOI'NDKD RV ai.MH StI>T10KMAN I'libllillllMr Woflily |).v VAKIISTV, llK'. 104 Weit 4Ct)l .St., \-ew Yoili 19, N. T. HoUywmid S8 ■.',■':.■.■,: 6,',1J 'i'ucca Street Masltiiifflon ,4 , ' IS?.!; .N-ation!il a-rcsB Bnildlng^. . CIllrilKO' 1 ■. .,800.Nn, Alli'liiffiiT) Ave, ^ LomtOH WC'S » SI l[.liliii'<i >'1„ TraC.llsar Sd. SffiSCniPTlO-N' .Vniuial....... ,?10 Forolgn.. ..... .$ir. ,sin(sl() t'oiilff'* , 25 Cents Vol. 173 f3SS^..^''' No. 1 INDEX Bills 55 Chatter 62 Concert 58 Film Revle\\;s 6 House Reviews ^ 56 Inside Legit 58- Inside Pictures 20 Inside Television 35 International 13 IjCgitij^iatc 57 Literati 61 Music ., 43 New Acts 56 Night Club Reviews 55 Obituaries 63 Orchestras 43 Pictures 3 Radio 24 Radio Reviews 26 Recoi-ds 44 'Frank Scully 61 Television 29 Television Reviews 34 ■Vaudeville 53 o.-iiLY v.1>iit;ty .(I!ul.ll!"!hi>d. .in 'Hon3,-Wi.iiji1 ty ■ .J>iilly.'^*!>H-c;tJ-, tdii.y :, >lu a JTeai—?iO Forde"