Variety (December 1950)

Wednesday, December 20, 1950 : t f v <t n '■ V N. Y. BOOKING Eagle Lion Classics and J. Ar- tliui; Relink 'vill proba^^^ break off their relationship prior to the finale of their five-year pact at the end of 1951. Neither side is happy with the current arrartgeinent, making it likely that the deal will be teriiiihated as soon as arrange^ . meiits can be made; probably dur- ing the early part of the year. Break would be a two-way affair. It would end distribution of Rank product by ELC in the U, S. and handling of ELG pix by Rank’s General Filin Distributors in Eiig- 1 iTid. Move would follow a similar action by Republic last month in terniinating distribution of its films in England by Sir Alexander Kor- da's British Lion releasing setup. Universal’s deal with Rank, which parallels that of ELC, will bo uhaiTected. It is. also a five-year contract expiring Dec. 31, 1951, but there is every expectation it will be renevved. Situation differs in that Rank owns 15% of the St ock of U, making him the larg- est .single shareholder. U and ELC split distribution of Rank product in the U. S. A com- mit Lee determines which pix go to whicli distrib, but in general U has had the pick of the crop, wdlh minor films going to ELC, AVhat the latter turns dow'n goes to small indie releasing organizations. More and more has been going in that direction in the past year, wdth El.C turning up its nose at it. Evciything but the top pix will go to the indies if and when the ELC d e a 1 is terminated. There won’t be too much else, how'ever, after U skims off the cream, inas- much as Rank has greatly cur- tailed production since the original pacts were negotiated in 1946. Possibly likely to profit will be the new Lopert Filins Distributing Co., set up in New^ York last W'eek to handle British and other special- ized art product. Paradoxically, Rank’s competitor, Korda, would (Continued on page 19V Morris L. Eriist !ilisceurt*i bn A Barrister^s Grim Humor About Creative Talent * . * ■ ♦ on* of the mbny inferetfliig bylint pi*c*i In th* iipeominb. 45ih Atmiversary Number ■ of . Big Concession by M-G On MPEA Extension Of It took considerable convincing by Eric Johnston and company prexies at the Motion Picture Ex- port Assn, board meeting last w'eek to get Metro to back down from its decision to strike out on its own in Japan. Metro already had two men on the scene in Tokyo setting up an organization there find had issued releases to the Jap- anese press announcing Its intent of breaking aw'ay from the MPEA. Metro is therefore considered to havemade a large concession and other companies to liave W'on an Important victory in getting tin! distrib to a.gree to a six-inputh ex- tension of MPEA bperations there, "lhat ineans continuation of joint relea.sing by the majors through the co-op until the end of 1951. . clouds oyer the Far East Were the coiivihcers for Metro prez^ wieholas AI. Schenck and LO.ew’s Inlernalional topper Arthur Loew whoYi tlvey found the nine other member companies and Johnston, prj?7. of the organization, lined up soldiy in' the argument against them. - . ^Vithoiit the war threat several m the other distribs, it is under- stood. would also have voted to .Fj'. jh their own, thus endihg the MI EA operation. Once one or two J’onvpanies bteak awgy, others feel h competitively . necessary to Two new and unique arbitration cases came into prominence this week, both supporting the argu- ment that persons immediately fa- miliar with industry complexities are best qualified to consider dis- putes on clearances and other trade practices. Serving as arbiter' in the first proceeding was Jay Emanuel, Phil- adelphia theatre operator and tradepaper publisher, who based his decision on the single and dual pic policies of the theatres in- volved. Second complaint was heard by a panel comprising cir- cuit operator Ted R. Gamble, Metro sales chief William F. Rodgers and RKO distribution topper Robert Mochrie. Trio agreed to hear the latter case at the request of the complain- ant, William Goldman, whose clear- ance demand for his Esquire thea- tre, Philadelphia, if granted, could upset the entire zone system in that city. Gamble, Rodgers and Mochrie have the case under ad- visement, with their decision due this Week. Goldman had leased the Esquire (formerly the Grange) to Warner Bros., but when the lease expired last year he took over the opera- tion. He refurbished the house at claimed high expense and there- upon demanded of the distribs the same prior run for the entire area given the Logan theatre, also a WB house. Major problem facing the three arbiters is that bringing the Esquire up to the key imn could injure houses other than the War- ner group and other distribs not. a party to the complaint in any way. On the other hand, if Goldman has proved justification for the prior run, they fail to see. how it can be denied. Adjacent to the Esquire is the Bromley, also WB, but this is a. lesser situation and only indirectly involved in the case. House Policy House policy figured largely in the decision rendered by Emanuel. Plaintiff in the proceeding was the Hyway'theatre, which straddlfes the (Continued on page 18) Complete overhauling of booking practices in the N. Y. area has been threatened as a result of the three- picture deal which Warner Bros, made with the Loew’s circuit last week. WB . has booked “Breakr through,” “West Point Story” and “Glass Menagerie” with Loew’s in what repi'esents a major reversal of standard operating prbcedure; Warner product' has irtvariably played the RKO chain in N. Y. for years. Since the Loew’s and RKO cir- cuits are the pnly principal circuit outlets after first-run in the area, all distribs are affecte,. by the switch. Any continuation, of WB product in the Loew’s spots ob- viously would mean less playing time for. the other distribs tradi- tionally aligned with that chain. Although the existonce of any agreement on a division of product has been denied by the two cir- cuits, it is clear that RKO has shown a preference for RKQ Radio, 20th-Fox, Warner’s and half of Universars product., Loew houses primarily have been taking the out- put of Metro, Paramount, United Artists, Columbia and the balance ofu.'-; New WB deal with Loew’s throws the present system completely out of balance not only dealing with the two primary circuits, but with subsequent outlets as well. Century Theatres, Randforce. S k o u r a s, Brandt and Prudential chains all customarily follow either Loew’s or RKO as the pix come off the latter circuits and they, too, figure to be upset by the WB hop to Loew’s. Reason for the surprise switch was said to be two-fold. Film com-, panics generally are becoming i more inclined to break away from old habits as prompted by changing marketing conditions, and WB is no exception. Thus, the major, no longer averse to change in a book- ing pattern, decided to negotiate with Loew’s. Terms were worked out and the deal was set. Further encouraging the WB break with RKO, it was Intimated, was the desire of the two circuits In N. Y. to make il apparent that they are not engaged in any con- spiracy on product division, That the two have an agreement on shar- ing films of the majors is charged in the pending $15,000,000 anti- trust action instituted by Eagle Lion Classics. Art Arthur who utod to bo 0 howspaporman himitif. onolyioi tho thorfoomingt of tho snoor-aRcl-hato opprooch to Hollywood C0vtr0go (ond that goos for somo of th* dubjouf proisogontry) In a foorg^ing ploco ontitlod If You Call It Netvs an Inttreiflng bylin* footurc in th* 45th, Anniversary Number of ' Chicago, Dec. 19. Al Lichtman, 20th-Fox veepee, lashed out at exhibs for “leaning too much oh Hollywood” and for showing double-features, at what might be characterized as a mu- tual back-slapping banquet in honor of , Allied Theatres of Illinois’ 20th birthday. Speaking before major exhib and distrib toppers Friday (15), Lichtman singularly set re- sponsibility for the current dob drums on the exhib, stating that poor showmanship and program- ming are leaving a bad taste in the mouth of the public. “Business in the past has been too good to all of us,” he "said, j pointing out that the theatre op- erator must shoulder some of the load now with good shownf anship; Lichtman inplied that the exhib has become fat and sassy from prosperous days; and must now start paying attention to the con- dition of his theatre and “play only single pictures with well-bal- anced short subjects. Veepee disclosed 20th’s upcom- ing production plans for '51 and ’52, recently mapped out with com- pany prexy Spyros S.kouras and production head Darryl F. Zanuck. He said that 20th is optimistically sinking over $100,000,000 into pic- making in the next two years: $50,000,000 for 36 pix in ’51 and $50,400,000 for ’62. Lichtman scoffed at teevee as the industry’s top adversary. “It’s tough competition only because it’s -J' Jacques Grinieff appeared yes- terday (Tuesday) to be moving into the United Artists picture with both feet in a. last-fling effort to keep the company afloat. Foreign film trader arrived in New York from huddles on the Coast with promises that if arrangements could be made to elimiriate the Paul V. McNutt management group, he could provide temporary and then permanent relief for the ailing company. While most trade observers were highly pessimistic that , Grinieff could pull the trick after many other operjators had failed, there appeared to be no other solution on the horizon to the company’s af- fairs. The group with which at- torneys for owners Mary Pickfprd and C!harles Chaplin had been ne- gotiating on the Coast for several weeks have passed from the pic- ture. The negotiations were with Carol Gray, chairman of the board and treasurer of Burr & Co. Lat- ter is an underwriting house spe- cializing in small businesses. It was formerly in New York and is now on the Coast. Gray reported- ly proposed to keep the company alive temporarily while he made a survey and recommendations. Grinieff’s Chaplin Confabs Grinieff, during three Weeks in Hollywood, confabbed with Chap- lin and his attorney, Loyd Wright, as well as with Miss Pickford’s counsel, Clinton Latourette. He talked with Miss Pickford on his arrival in New York yesterday. De- velopments, if there are any, on his plan should occur within a day or two. If he can get the cooperation from the owners, which they have indicated they are ready to give, Grinieff said he can bring tempo- rary capital into UA to tide it over (Continued on page 19) Skouras, Sponable To , Switzerland to Scout Bi^-Screen Video Possibility of-a further cut in the price of theatre television equipment is: seen in the current trip of 20th-Fox prez Spyros P. Skouras and research chief Earl I. Sponable to Switzerland to view a new big-screen system developed at the University of Zurich. While the Swiss system is said to be still in an early development stage, the fact that Skouras and Sponable traveled to Europe to scout it indi- cates it has commercial possibili- ties. Thus, if it’s found to be ac- ceptable, it will undoubtedly be put B.O^ Revealed for ’48 .In addition to the war, several M the distribs \vere influenced by I CMeir experience in Germany, i A'liei-e Loew’s likewise struck but; on its own, to be followed by the i oiLer companies. Corisensus now have been\ better !• with the joint operation for imther year or so. Business in-; ^’Ulually has not quite been up ble motion picture theatres, n estinvates, but that is minor The comparable receipts in 1939, ^oinpared with the plethora of ' * — • ^ '>I:k other restrictions Yanks iucing. ,[ Washington; Dec. 19. The nation’s film theatres took in $1,569,000,000 at the boxoffice in i.948, Including the Federal 20% admissions tax aiid the various lo- cal and state amusement taxes, the U. S. Census Bureau reported to- day (19). The figures; a paid Of the 1948 census of business, are, exclusive of the drive-ins and the few porta- the last previous date when a Fed- eral census of business was taken, were $673,000,000. Washington, Dec. 19. Film industry dividends continue far in the ruck of what they W'ere in 1949; Reported dividends for the first 10 months of 1950 aggregate $28,887,0()0. a dive of $9,764,000 beA low the same peidod of the preced- ing year, according to figures re- leased by the U. S. Gomjnerce De- partment. The big spread is explainable in a few companiei., a Commerce spokesman pointed out. ; For in- stance, Stanley Go. of America-^ Warner’s subsidiary — cut melons totaling $7,240,000 for its stock- holders in the first 10 months last year. This year it has reported nothing. RKO paid three qiiarteiiy dividends aggregating $1,775,600 in 1949 but nothing this year. And the total Paramount dividends are off by $706,000. While Columbia Pix dividends are running $327,000 back of last year, its November dividend will liipre than wipe but this discrepan- cy. The dividends of Republie Pic- tures were up $500,000 from last year. Commerce estimates that the. publicly reported dividends total about 60 to 65^’r' of all dividends, paid in any industry. on the market in the U. S. and, free; its quality doesn’t come elose j through competition with the other to films.” ! si!ystems currently in use, will un- Balance of industry leaders spoke I dbubtedly force the price down, warmly of good feeling between ; Swiss system is entirely different exhibitor and distributor. Allied from any yet seen in the U. S. prexy Jack Kirsch asked that the in that it Is direct projection, but biggies on hand return to Chicago . utilizes an external light source, sometime in January to map out ] such as a carbon arc, and creates a circumvention campaigh for the projection through extremely rapid biz drop. Huddle had originally ' rotation of globules of a mineral been called for Dec. 14, but Kirsch water substance known as Eido- reportedly cancelled out because phor. Light is reflected from these of lack of cooperation* ; - j globules in a mahner similar to the House darkenings are at a stand- i reflection of light from a pool of (Continued bn page 18) [oil. Globules would also reflect col- ors, which reporfedlj makes the I system especially adaptable to color video for theatres. Use of a carbon ^ arc light source indicates that the PaefArn VIIAC I niAi system can provide a “throw” as LiadipiU UaiCO i/HIci gg standard 35m film pro- Peter T. Paha has been promoted jector. While that advantage is also U Promotes Dana To from district manager to eastern division sales chief for Universal, succeeding CharLs J. Feldman, Who recently Was upped to nation- inherent in Paramount’s interme- diate film method, it is not present in the direct projection system built by RCA for use with a al sales topper. Feldman said the Schmidt optical system., Dana appointment was in line with Engineers from the Uniy. of Zu- the firm’s policy of promotion from rich, as well as several Swiss busi- withln the ranks. ness men owning commercial rights As district manager, Dana super- to the system, have been in the vised the Albany, Buffalo, Cleve- U. S. for huddles' with theatre land, Detroit and Pittsburgh ex-: execs. A description of the system changes. He started with the com- j was recently published by the So- pany in 1930 as a salesman. Sue-’ ciety of Motion Pietpte and Tele- dessive promotions made, him vision Engineers. It's said that the branch chief in Albany, Buffalo original working model set up by and Pittsburgh. He was upped to the Swiss occupied two full floors the district post in 1946, \ (Continued on page 19)