Variety (May 1950)

yedii finlityf Muy 3^ 1950 . Phonevisioli continued -its. role this week stormy petrel of the film industry as Zenith Badio prexy Engene y; McDpttal^^ proponent of home via wired TV» tossed barbs ait IhduMryites and the lat- ter co\ihtereS :iri McDonald in Chicago, declared that he has more than enough pix for the pendihg 90-day test of his system. He also crossed swords with Abram F. fevers, National Allied board chairman, who has juist asserted that distribs; violate no anti-trust laws in refusing to grant product to Phonevision. McDonald said he could “underT stand” Myers^ position as spokes^ man for exhibitors.- He is still seeking additional films to present a representative ; cfoss-section of recent product, he added. Most of the films obtained-by him for the tests were - produced during the past yCar, according to the Zenith '.topper- ■' feyers, in a bulletih to his mem- | hers past weekend, compared Mcr- Donald with the man who, wants to go in > the ^ shipping bfe-^“he was seeking a partner who would supply the ships while he was prepared to furnish the ocean. •* . ■ In the Bohlnsort-Patman Act, Myers emphasized, is language that hothiiig in the law “shall prevent persons engaged in selling goods; wares, . 01 : merchandise In com^ merce from selecting their own customers in bOnafidC transactions and not in restraint Of trade/’ ’•The producers of mdtiori pief tutes , should bear in mind,said •feyers, “this simple definition of a fund.'imental right nOt only in con- sidering McDonald’s fiilmlnations but in connection with current-as- sertions that they must offer their product on the auction block in all -competitive situations, without re- gard to equitable considerations.’’ Myers took time out' to laud Spyros Skouras as an outstanding producer and distributor because of his recently announced refusal to supply pictures for iPhonevisioh. idling to fear,’Sez Makes Film industry is plenty bothered ■by TV, indie producer William Bacher declared In New York Mon- day (1), bjit if jthe majors extend themselves by. making good picr tures they’ll have “nothing to fear.” After the* period of trarisitioh is over, he predicted, few films will be made fpjr theatrical distribution oil budgets of less than $2,000,000 ■for the cheap programmers will be shown on TVi Bacher rapped the practice of pairing a rumof-the-mill pic with a top-bracket entry. He feels that a j routine potboiler keeps prospective patrOns away from genuinely en- teVtaining film. Eventually, he holds, the less /luxurious houses Avill be elimihated and the theatre of the future will be the Roxys and Music Hfels, where audiences will gladly, pay $2;20 to see great pictures//-/'";^ Before planihg to Londoh yester- day (Tuesday), Bachm* revealed, ;_that he had paid authoress Helga Moray $76,000 and participatipn in the profits for film rights to her re- cently published novel,: “Untamed,” After a brief London stopover the producer goes to South Africa with a view ^to making the picture there, It has a South African background. Several majors are. interested in financing and distributing “Un- tamed,’’ Bacher said. Pix Output Hyp^^ V/ v.Tlekico. :Gity, :feay 2,. . . Though pic. production this year OPheeded to be below the IIQ of 1949, the output during the nrst third of 1950 was* 37, com- pared to 35 in the same period of last yeur, , But the trade doesn’t expect that ratio to continue. The 1950 policy •tresses quality over quahtlty. Acquires Lum-AbneC 35mi 16m; ty Ppst Pictures Corp., N. Y., head- ed by Harry A. Post, has acquired. 35m, lem and TV rights to six “Lum ’n’ Abner’/ features made by jack Votioh for RKb release some years ago. Outfit is planning to re- issue the filmi: theatrically and eventually offer; them for narrow- gauge and tele showing. Irylng Lesser and Seymour Poe’s Producers Representatives, Inc.; Ni Yi, retains an interest in the •films,:- U;S;LoantdAi^. 0e^ in Dileinina Siiddeh disclosure by the U. S. Governmeht that Argentina will be offered a credit of $125^000,000, maihly tor it to pay back its epm- mercial dollar debts, has plunged the proposed film pact With that Latino bourttry into complete um certainty; , Company prexies have been ;asked by their foreign man- agers to make the diffibult choice of inking a film agreement im- mediately and risk status under the credit deal or delay the film pact in favor of a bid, for liquida- tion in toto of . the U. "S. companies/ $5,0()(),6 oO in frozen Argentine coin. No decision by the prexies has yet been made; But tho time ele- ment is pressing since Dr. Ramon Gejeirp, • Argentine Minister of Fi- nance, heads shortly for Buenos Aires after a visit here. In the course of this visit, he reached an understanding with Eric Johnston, Motion Picture Assn, of America’s prez, for a new film accord. U. S. ExporMmport Bank will authorize the $125,000,000, credit, Washington reports disclosed this week. Over $100i000,000 of that sum would go towards repaying Argentina’s commercial debts; Gountry is now in arrears for about $108,000,000. Despite the proposed film deal/ company jprexies Would rather ob- tain immediate repayment of the $5,000,000 in iced: coin accumula- ted over the past couple of years. The film deal does not provide for any liquidation of this sum but rather grants the companies $!,- (Continued on page 18) ^ -v. ' Pathe Industries In 1949 Bed for 455G Pathe indUrtries, parent com- pany of Eagle Lion, hit- the red during 1949. for a net loss of $455,- .113, annual report disclosed this week. Score compares with a loss of $1,441,000 for the year previous, At the same time, Kenneth M. Young, pi prez, predicted thrt EL in 1950 “will be on a' prpfitabie basis for the first time in its his- tory/’ Total company deficit, as of Dec. 31, callie to $1,739,918» It included studio, expenses .of . $463,741 for El/s idle lot. Writeoff on "story rights ’ amounted to $153,771, and provision for loss bn advances to producers totaled $450,000. Total revenues for the parent Company came to $28,086,126. Of this sum, $17,740,696 was derived from film rentals and sale of ac- cessories. Company’s film lab brought in. another $5,825,351, while sales and servicing of oil extraction, handled by y. 0. An- derson Gb., PI subsid, totaled $4,- 352.654. ypung’s accompanying statement, predicted ' substantial saving.s for EL dunrtg ’50 because of the epm- pany's decision to discontinue pro- duction and close the studio. Gom- pietb overhaul of EL’s distributibn forces has resulted , in savings , of $20,000 weekly, he said* Gompetitive bidding which, with distribs pushing to extend it and exhibs increasingly on the march against it—^continues to pose new angles. One is the-'effect on general release of awarding a: pic to a high bidder who is put of thb normal first-run area In a tbr* ritpry>' ■ Several majors are quietly riih- riing tests to get factual data on the problem They Want to cbm^ pare overali income of equivalent pix When played firrt-ruh in an off- beat theatre or drive-in, as against opening in a standard midtbwn house and then playing off in nor- mal fashion. , / Dope so obtained Will be wel- come ammUnitipn to distrib law- yers in fighting pending anti-trust cases grewing out of both perniit- ting and not permitting subse- quents and ozohers to bid sgainst normal first-run operators. Distribs find themselves “damned if they do and damned if they don't,” and are trying to get info that will give them a case when they face a court fpP either ailowihg hidding or not allowing it. Main point in such litigation as the; Meiselmah. case in Charlotte, Adblmah Pase in Houston and Dal- (Gohtinued .on page 15) Chicago, May 2. Columbia pictures/ product line- up for the: coming year will comr prise a total of .62 pictures; includ- ing 32 high budgeters. During the previous 12-month period,. Colum- bia released 61 pix but the pro- portion of big features was con- siderably lower than the upcoming distrib roster. Col’s slfee Was disclosed today (’lues.) at the four-day .sales con- vention being held at: the Drake hotel here for the western division. A second conclave for the. eastern division has been Slated for . At- lantic City. May 15-18 at the Ritz- Carlton; Total of 62 films to be distrib- uted will comprise Six Gene Aiitry oatuners, eight westerns starring Charles Starrett and 16 exploita- tion pix in addition to the 32 major producUpris. In the latter group, eight will be .filmed in Technicolor and one in Cinecolor. One of the 16 exploitation pix will also be; in color. Columbia will supplement its feature roster with an enlarged program of shorty and serials. Shorts roster cover four serials, including the hew . entry; “Atom Man Vs. Superman,’’ plus 26 twp- reelers and 78 single reels, No. Central Allied Foints Guns on fix for TV Minneapolis, May 2. Training its guns oh producers who are supplying television with films, North Central Allied, in com verition here this week (May 4-5), was to call upon the stagehands’ union to bring its influence to bear “in tlie interests of its own .mem- bers ah^i allied crafts’' to stop; the release of did and new feature nio- tioh pictures of more than four reels in length t6 teleyisioh out- 'lets.-■ Compulsory percentage in small- er situatiohs was also to epme un- der fire, with a resolution calling upon National AUied Btates’ direct tors at their forthcoming .meeting to initiate What yv'Ould be, in effect, a ha.tional boycott 6f the product, of any company insisting upon such forced percentage for any picture, The direetors of National Allied also wilt be asked “to develop, an- nounce'and implement” the policy of “determined opposition” to the releiise of the more than four-reel long pictures to TV channels aiid to solicit stagehands’ iinion aid in the fight. Video Okay—F6r Other ; Fellow’s Star,; Sez 20th Twentieth-Fox, which, won’t ai^ low its own stars to appear oh TV, made extensive use last week of German actress BrUni Lobel, who appeared in the company’s “Big Lift.” Company ^brought her from Germany , (with frozen marks), where the pic Was shot, for publicity shots oh a . fipek of New York-originated tele shows. Miss Lobel piaried to the Goart yesterday (Tuesday) for a week as guest of the George Seatons. Sea- ton scripted and directed “‘Lift.” She’s due babk in Munich to begin a German film May 15. Hollywood, May 2. , Eagle L^ management is not actively seeking the’ sale oG its Hollywood lot because the com- pany feels the time is not ripe for it to get a good price on the stur dio. Book value of the lot is fixed at $1,600,000, and the company re^ portedly will not consider a price below that. If a purchaser came along with an offer in that heigh- borhood, EL Would consider un- loading the studio. Although GfiS has approached EL toppers on the possibility of buying the lot for its television ac- tivities, there is no great likeli- hood of a deal. CBS, after pric- ing the property, sent several en- gineers to the Coast to inspect the lot a$ Weil as others. Talks be- tween CBS and EL first began in January. Network has yet to give ■an."'answer.-.. In view of the availabilify of space on a number of lots, EL does not believe any purchaser I will crop up with a $1,600,000 of- fer. Company does hot want to sell at a loss. It believes that if the big nets move their “TV opera-: tions to the Coast, the chances of a sale at the right price will boom. Meanwhile, there is small like- lihood that EL will use the lot for its own productions. Only one pic,“The World and Little Willie,” is under consideration as a pure- ly EL project. It has been studied for the past six months without a decision. Eyen if the company decides to make the pic, it may Iqpse it on another indie lot rather tqan go to the expense; of reopeh- ing its own studib. As for CBS, net hais been scout- ing elsewhere. It has looked over the Samuel Goldwyn studio (own- ed jointly, by Goldwyn and Mary Pickford) but despite reports has pot made an offer to buy it, Gan Gop Gensof Pix ? Mpb. Court to Decide feinncapol^^ Whether a police morals squad member can set himself up as a self-cOnstituted film censor’ will be argued in couit here when Na- than Elkins goes on trial: for show- ing allegedly indecent films at his Crystal, lower loop theatre* Coun- sel for Elkins will argue that no policeman has the rig^t to decide if a picture is unfit for' public con- sumption and halt its showing. Patfolman William Mahiike, of the police ^inoralS: squkd, took El- kins into custody and confiscated nudist colony and Hawaiian, danc- ing girls’ shorts after he had viewed their sho;yihg. He did hot attempt to stop the showing of tWo features On the saiTie bill-^“Hitler’s Strange Love Life” and “Passion’g 'Pay- ment/' ^HGllywaod, May 2, New activity is sweeping the rental lots. After long hiatus of production, which kept stages, sealed tight as a drum at majority of studios, production push is brightening operators of lots, to ex- tent that office space at many is becoming somewhat of a premium. ; Television film production is bnO great source of this augmented, operation. Regular film produc- tion,* of epurse/ still accounts for most of the productipn, hut TV daily asserts itself further. At the Hal Roach lot, for ex- ample, more than 200 vidbo films have been turned out during the past 16 months. : Greater per- centage of these are product of Sidney Smith and Frank Wisbar, who have made more than 65 15-minute and 30-minute films for . their : “Fireside Theatre” series, which Procter & Gamble is spon-' soring. They launch another eight half-hour dramas this week.^ Pair also have organized Family Films> for production Of religious and educational pictures. Other producers of TV films are Jack Chertok, who produces “Lone Ranger’’ series, and CBS, which has already finished 26 films., An- other 13 have Uden made for American Tobacco Co, ’ Roach studid ini ceftam. instances pro- vides both production facilities and production know-how for turn- out of various ^V series. General Motors has jiist Com- rpleted a full-length feature, “Headline Story,’’ for regular thea- trical release also at Roach studio. (Continiied on page 22) Film, Video Technicians Meet in Harmony At Convention in Chicago Chicago, May 2. While film and video industries are sparring with each other and are uncertain of their ground on the administration and financial ends of the businesses, technicians and engineers in both media are Working in harmony Irt the cer- tainty that each can help the other. This Vas the most significant de- velopment emerging out of the semi-annual convention of the So- ciety of Motion Picture and Teler vision Engineers, which ended Friday (28) at the Drake hotel here.- Not only was there perfect hair- mony evidenced between techni- cians from the tWo industries; but each displayed a lively interest in new developments in the "other’s industry, Video technical sessions Were packed With film men, and vice versa. While television engineers have participated in previous SMPE conventions, this is the first since the name was changed, to SMPTE and the conrtitution amended to admit video reps. While little in the way of revo- lutionary advahees came.qut of the , meeting, discoveries which will lead to increased efficiency artd economy in both fields were dem- bnstrated and di.scussed. Gn the administrative side, the next con- yentioh Was sbt for Oct. 16-20 at the Lake Placid Club,; Lake Placid; N Y., and two more mem- bers of the board of" goyernors, Malrelm G. Towhsley, of the Bell. & Howell Co. of Chicago, and ■ Freiik Caf^ General Elec- tfic Nela Park/ Cleveland/ were elected. In the film industry, new ad- vances in sound, in the Ifim field, in pfbjecters, etc., were demon- ■.strated/: • Par Inks Hopkins Hbllj’wobd, May 2. Paramount inked Miriam Hop- kins for top role in “Relative Stranger,” Gene Tierney-John; Lund starrer, her first at the studio since “Heiress.” ■ Film rolls May .15 With Charles Brackett producing and Mitchell Leisen directing.