Variety (December 1950)

Wednesday, December 6, 1950 PRICE K PICTURES « DIP Chicago, Dec. 5. . Zenith Radio has discovered that there are considerably greater le- gal problems in putting feature pictures on the air than merely the okay of the studio that produced them. Getting these knots untied Is what’s currently holding up the test of Zenith’s Phonevision sys- tem, Which was slated to get un- derway last Friday (1). Although it has the go-sign from every company but 20th-Fox for use of their product on the air, Zenith Will be delayed anywhere from several days to several weeks in getting the other clearances nec- essary. It is trying tp set up a pro- gram of 90.pix to be used daily in the test of the home boxoffice video gadget in the Chicago terri- tory,.; Explaining 20th’s refusal to par- ticipate in the experiment, prexy Spyros Skouras declared last week; “The only tie between television and films . should be in the thea- tres.’’ Nevertheless, execs of other pic companies opined this week that Skouras' “may soon be going along.” All the other majors and minors were nudged into providing prod- uct for the test by the Dept, of Justice, to which Zenith prexy Eu- gene F, McDonald appealed via his attorney,-Burton K. Wheeler, who as a U.S. senator from Montana, is Credited with fathering the Federail Communioations Act. Zenith was under the impression it had pretty well cleared its hur- dles away when, after getting pro- ducer okays, it succeeded in mak- ing a deal with James C. Petrillo, prexy of the American Federation of Musicians, for using original soundtracks on the air, Actually, however, the , Phonevision outfit (Continued on page 4) Pact Five Years Eric A. Johnston’s contract as president of the Motion Picture Assn, of America, which still had three years to run, yesterday (Tues.) was extended five years by the MPAA board, bringing the new expiration date to 1958. Board action, in effect, was ratifi- cation of the premature renewal. It had been approved last week, with the formal finalization having taken place yesterday. Unlike the first extension of Johnston’s original employment pact in 1946, after he had been with the MPAA for a year, the new extension was not accom- panied by any reports or trade ru- mors of lack Of confidence in John- ston. Latter, said to be a* long- range planner, simply wanted to know where he stood and MPAA board answered with the pact; which runs to 1958. Terms are the same, providing for a salary of $,100,0()0 annually, plus expense$. Johnston joined MPAA in 1945 under a five-year pact. Year later there were strong runmrs in the trade that the org’s board was un- happy with the association. The rumors were met with extension of that brigihal pact to 1953. Skoura^ Lichtman To Coast for Zanuck Gab After a week’s delay, 20th-Fox prez Spyros P. Skouras and veepee A1 Lichtman left for the. Coast over the Weekend. Duo will huddle with production veepee Darryl F. Zan- uck and other studio execs for 10 days to two weeks before return- ing to the homeoffice. Twentieth veepee and eastern studio rep Joseph H. Moskowitz, meanwhile, returned to the h.o. Monday (4), after several weeks' conferences with studio officials. Univtrfal freildtiit N; J. Blumb^rg Ic on ddvecat* of More Work and Less Prophesy ot ho roprlioi Mi credo of Evoryono o 'CooimlttOo of On*' to flog Pix ♦ 0 oh Intorottlng cditorlol footuro in th* upcoming 45th Anniversary Number of P^RiSfr James A. Mulvey In San Fran- cisco and Jacques Grinieff in New York both flatly denied yesterday (Tuesday) the wi,despread report? in the trade since last Friday (1) associating them with United Art- ists. Mulvey told Variety for quo- tation that he was not going with UA as president or in any other role. Grinieff admitted that he has been negotiating for a number of weeks a deal that would put him into the UA picture, but said it was far from consummation. In the interim, another group has popped up in California with a proposal to take control of the company, and negotiations are now going on in that quarter. At the same time, as affairs of the distrib continued to get more crucial, attorneys for UA produc- ers met on the Coast Monday afternoon (4) to discuss ways and means of protecting their clients’ interests in released an^ un- released pictures. Outcome of the session may result in immediate litigation against UA which could carry the company to the brink of bankruptcy, one producer admitted in Hollywood Monday night. The legal get-together was co- incidental with the flood of rumors concerning the Mulvey-Grinieff deal. Actually, Grinieff, in ma- neuvering to gain “a foothold in UA, has proposed the possibility of Mulvey stepping into the top position. Mulvey, president of Samuel Goldwyn Productions, has been apathetic on the proposal, promising to show real interest (Continued On page 18) 41. S. Anglo-American film agreement, which authorizes American film companies to remit annually $17,- 000,000 of their earnings in Britain, was formally inked in New York yesterday (Tues.) by reps of the British ’government and the U, S. film industry. Rupert G. Somervell, under secretary for the British Board of Trade, signed for Britain, while Ellis G. Arnall, prez of the Society of independent Motion Pic- ture Producers, and Eric Johnston, head of the Motion Picture Assn, of America, were the Yank signa- tories. Negotiated in London, early this summer by Arnall and Johnston, in association with British govern- ment officials, the one-year pact be- came effective as of Oct. L Aside from the $17,000,000, the treaty also establishes special bonus ar- rangements under which American companies may increase their dol- lar remittances through film pro- duction in Britain and distribution of British pictures in the western hemisphere. Can exhibitors safely raise their admission prices to compehsate. for the general ' attendance dip suf- fered, during recent weeks? Or will a hike in ticket tabs result in scaring more potential customers away from the boxoffice and so force still. more theatres to shut- ter? ... ■ Those are the questions confront- ing theatre operators this Week, in the face of generally drab bo. conditions around the country, which have forced a number of marginal houses to close down. Round-robin survey of key cities conducted by Variety reveals sharply-divided opinions on; the subject. While the Fox-West (joast circuit, for one, has found that boosting prices has *i6t_hurt at- tendance but has resulted in big- ger grosses, exhibs in the majority of territories scanned by Variety still fear to hike their prices. F-WC’s increase in admission scales was taken in the face of subr sequent-run shutterings in the Los Angeles territory. In Chicago, on the Other hand, the very fact' that a number of marginal houses were forced to go dark has convinced ex- hibs that it would be unwise to at- tempt boosting prices at this time. In St. Louis, while several the- atres have upped their scales, a number of exhibs are staying open only in hopes of being able to sell (Continued on' page .22) Par Advance Coin Gives Texas Oilmen Their Coin On Greshler's 'At War’ Group of Texas oilmen who backed Abby Greshler ip produc- tion of the new Jerry Martin-Dean Lewis film, “At War With the Army,’’ will probably get the fast- est payoff in Hollywood history. Paramount, which will release the film, is advancing almost twice the film’s production cost, and the angels will get all of their original investment back the day “Army” goes into distribution. The Texans, making their debut in film financing, advanced $340,- 000 of the $420,000 Which gie nega- tive cost. Remainder Was repne- sented by deferments by Martin and Lewis, Fred Finklehoffe, who served as po-producer and authored (Continued on page 18) Darryl F. Zanuck If of th* epiiijloR that iSew Faces Are the Best B.O. Hypo ond. thf 20th-FoK production chief citcf hit own Impretflve rotter on interettlng byline piece in the forthcoming 45th Anniversary Number of P^fHETY Scheduled emergency meeting of major film company; presidents and studio toppers this week on the “state of the industry’’ has been called off. Trade’s business execs and production officials felt the agenda outlined was inade- quate to warrant a three-day stay in Phoenix, where the Conclave originally was slated to open on Friday (8); ^ Business mapped for the meet- ing was discussion and possible action on new steps to be taken to meet the steady decline at the boxoffice, and the challenge of television. Trade matters which also might have come up ihcluded the Council of Motion Picture Or- ganizations and weighing of changes in the Production Code. While these matters have obvious importance, the reasoning behind the meeting’s cancellation was that (Continued on page 18) Indications continued this week that Howard Hughes might part with his controlling interest in the RKO production-distribution setup. J. Arthur Warner, head of J. Ar^ thur Warner, Inc., Wall street in-^ vestment bankers, flew to the Coast over the weekend for negotiations on the sale. Warner is not associated with an- other group of Wall Streeters who have combined in a loose alliance which is said to control jointly more shares than Hughes in bkO. They are highly disturbed by re- ports of the RKO topper’s plan possibly to sell his interest in the ^picture company. Some members of the group re- portedly met Monday, but its plans are still very vague. Most unlikely of the steps discussed is a ganging- up in an effort to Wrest control of RKO from Hughes through a proxy fight. Possible, however, is the formation of. stockholders’ protec- tive committee or merely a request to Hughes for representation on the board. Meanwhile. Harry Brandt’s ef- forts to acquire Hughes’ interest in the RKO theatre chain has report- edly takeii on some new life. Brandt, through hiS Trans-Lux (Continued on page 8) EC in Brandt M.on Twkt’ Controversy centered around the acceptability of “Oliver Twist’’ ex- n'oded bn a new front yesterday. (Tues.), with Eagle Lion Classics, distributor of the film, pitted against N.. Y. Circuit Operator Har- ry Brandt. Opening gun was fired Nov. 30 by ELC, according to the Brandt side. A spokesman for the theatre op said that Brandt had received a letter on that date from Winston Frost, ELC secretary, which as- serted ELC “was informed’’ that - (Continued on page 18) Balaban’s CoAst 0.0. Barney Balaban, president of Paramount, leaves N. Y. today (Wed.) for Coast conferences with Y. Frank Freeman, Samuel Bris- j kin and other studio executives. ' He’ll be gone about a week. National Boxoffice Survey Pre-Xmas, H.O.’s Clip Biz; ^Solomon' Champ for 3d Time; ‘Point/ ‘Dance/ ‘Eve’ Next Strongest is landing in sixth spot while' “Breakthrough” (WB) is seventh. '♦Tripoli” (Par), ‘♦Harriet Craig” (Col) and “American Guerrilla” (20th) round out the Big 10 list in that order. Runner-up pix are far from strong for most part, with “Trio” (Par), “Rio Grande” (Rep), “Woman bn Run” (U) and “State Secret” (Col) finishing in that se- quence. ”Trio,” playing in small- er houses mostly, is being kept out of the top list mainly because not racking up a big coin total. “Joan of Arc” (RKO)' now on pop-scale runs, is a: bit uneven this stanza but gaining in profit- able dates, “Killer That Stalked N. Y.” (CoD is average and okay bn its two playdates this frame. “Milkman” (U) is big in Cincy while “Fuller Brush Girl” ;(Col) looks nice in Frisco. “Two Flags West” (20th>, firm in Chi, shapes up neatly in Toronto. “High Lonesome” (EL), trim in Louisville, is lightweight in L A. “Destination Moon” (EL) looms strong in Pittsburgh. “Macbeth” (Rep), fine in Chi, in solid in Washington., “Mad Wednesday” (RKO) looks nice in Washington. “Southside 1-1,000” (Mono) is fair in L A, “Edge of Doom” (RKO) shapes up okay in Buffalo. iComplete Boxoffice Reports on Pflflfcs 12'13) . f * 1 i A 4 i % r* f f i f 4 * t ^ r# 4 * t 4 * « 4 4 First-run biz continues to lag as many spots strive to get back to normal after record snows and a hurricane. Both Pittsburgh and Cleveland suffered terrifi. losses as a result of snowstorms, but are getting back on regular schedule this session. Atlantic seaboard cities, just getting over the big : wind of Nov. 25, were hurt further by an all-day rain Monday (4). 'These factors, coupled with early pre-ehristmas buying, are proving a body blow to the boxoffice in many keys. “King Solomon’s Mines” (M-G) is again champ, being the third week in a row that it has finished first nationally. Should wind up with around $400,000, Which is more than double its nearest Cpm^: petitor’s total, according to re- ports from Variety correspond- .ents. ♦'West Point story” (WB) is moving up into second slpt. It was third, last week; with almps the s5hie coin total as“Let’s Dance” (Par), which is third this round. FPurth money is going to “All About Eve” (20th), stout tes- timonial to this picture’s/ con- tinued strength although now on release well into its second month. “Jackpot” (20th) will be fifth, still failing to liye up to much high crix appraisal. i “Two Weeks With Love” (M-G) ♦ Trade Mark Registered FOUNDED BY SIME SILVERMAN Published Weekly by VARIETY, Ine Harold Erichs, President 154 West 46th St„ New York 19, N, V Hollywood 24 6311 Yucca Street Washington .4 1292 National Press Building Chicago 11 612 No. Michigan Avis. London WC2 8 St, Martin’s PI.. Trafalgar Sq. SUBSCRIPTION Annual $10. Foreign $11 Single Copies 23 Cents ABEL GREEN. Editor VPI. 180 .ii'O No. 13 INDEX Bills Band Reviews chatter / .. ; .., Film Reviews . . House Reviews . Inside Legit , : Inside Music . . Inside Pictures. . Inside Radio , Inside Televisipn International .. Legitimate .... Literati ...... Music New Acts ....... Night Club Reviews Obituaries ...... Pictures Radio ...... Radio Reviews Records ... 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