Variety (December 1950)

16 PICTIJIIES Wednesday, December 27, 1950 LeSieur In ELC Tangle ...._ ■ ■ ■ L--. -S Continued called MacMillen, who reversed field on the Winikus appointment rather than get involved in a “fam- ily” squabble. When given this word by Mac- Millen, LeSieur is understood to have' indicated he wouldn’t take the ELC job unless Winikus was also hired. This was in line with the promise the ELC topper report- from pagt 5 quick to point out last week that releasing contracts provide for UA maintaining an “adequate” pub- licity department. They said they did not consider it adequate with- out a pub-ad and an ad director. LeSieur was with UA for almost 16 years. He came there from the Hanif-Metzger advertising agency Record Playdates But Lower Rentals in ’50 - For 20th Due to Slump ’50 Earnings Par ’29 Boom Continued from page 3 basis for the seven companies will Twentieth-Fox sales department! be about $13.75. That compares will winci up 1950 with the I with $33.67 in 1946 and $34.04 in paradoxical situation of having j the alltime top year in this cate- achieved a record number of play- dates and contracts but with lower rentals than it scored in 1949. Re- sponsible, according to 20th execs, is the nationwide slump suffered gory, 1943. Figure in 1940 was $13.87, about the same as at pres- ent; $12.65 in 1935 and $18.91 in 1929-30. Cash dividends—another index 11 ,V. .--r-r- X---- . (now Buchanan & Co,) as advertis- i by the boxoffice during the last 12 j close to the heart of edly gave him originally that he’d ; ing production manager. Series of i uionths, coupled with the fact that | Iggg than half be permitted to run the department' promotions ended with his appoint- ; 20th’s fiscal year for 1949 was | v^hat they were in the big year of ■ • ■ • ~ ’ based on 53 weeks’earnings, while 11946_ but more than twice as boun- and its personnel without interfer- j ment to the top spot when Paul ence. Following several confabs N. Lazarus was promoted to assist- with MacMillen, and on the urging ant to Sears, then prez, two and of Winikus, LeSieur later agreed one-half years ago. to take the post. W'inikus is now understood hud- dling with several ad agencies and other companies on a job. The ad managership at ELC is currently held by Jones Arnold. LeSieur takes the spot held by Leon Brandt since May, 1949, when Brandt succeeded Max E. young- stein. The new ELC pub-ad chief takes over Jan. 2. Meantime, Brandt is understood TOA feeler’ Continued from page 5 vote, w’ould for 1950 it will include only 52 weeks. Company this year racked up 45,000 more playdates than in 1949 ' and sold 26,000 more contracts. Sales department was ^ble to do ■ this, it was said, because 20th en- ' tered 1950 with the smallest back- i log in its history of pictures that ^ hadn’t yet been played off. As a ' result, sales staffers throughout : the counti'y were able to concen- , trate on lining up dates for the ' new releases and could almost for- ; get about pushing the carryovers trib. Department at ELC is being administered in the interim period by Paul MacNamara, former Selz- nick Releasing Organization pub-ad chief, who now is working for indie producer N. Peter Rathvon. Latter releases through ELC. MacNamara has been serving MacMillen as an Hughes-RKO Continued from page 5 numerically. That Allied hold still for this was not seen by tradesters as much of a possibility. Meeting of the full COMPO board, called by prexy Ned E., to be well advanced with negotia- Depinet for Jan. 11-12, consequent-j fro^i 1949, tions to join a new indie film dis- ly is slated to be called upon to consider some alternatives which would be mutually agreeable. Idea being discussed in trade circles would provide for divisional rep- resentation on the COMPO board. This, for voting purposes, would divide TOA and Allied into di- visions, instead of regional units, I profits have fallen off considerably unofficial adviser on publicity and similarly as the distribs operate on' in the past year. Estimates in the advertising. the basis of territories. It was : trade are that the chain, as a sep- UA’s situation in regard to a pub- said both TOA and Allied under j arate unit, promises to show a net ad chief was unresolved as of yes- this plan could have an equal of $1,500,000 for 1950. Major’s pro number of reps on the COMPO ’ forma statements reported the board from the eastern sector, the ' theatre company had a profit of mideast, south, southwest and ‘ $4,500,000 in 1949. If the estimates west. prove correct, obviously Odium In any event, the Jan. 11-12 con-. would scale downward his ap- clave is likely to result in either a ' praisal of the circuit’s value, final TOA break from COMPO, or | In any event it was clear that a compromise which will mean the ; Odium intends to press the option shares at the “right price,” it also was pointed out that the circuit’s terday, Winikus, as No. 2 man in the department, would have been In normal succession to take over for LeSieur. However, Sears or UA prexy Frank L. McNamee made no new appointment. Department was be- ing operated by Mori Krushen, field exploitation topper, and A1 Tamar- in, publicity director. They have been told by Sears to continue as heretofore, but to report directly to him. There’s no pressure, since there’s no new product in sight. A couple of reps of producers distributing through UA were “all-industry” group actually will j issue, possibly to the extent of a be all-embracing. Both Depinet j court battle. When Harry Brandt and Ted R. Gamble, latter as head' recently was negotiating for the of the TOA committee which has ■ theatre stock, Hughes agreed that been negotiating a settlement plan | if a deal could have been reached, with COMPO, said they are “hope-; he would indemnify Brandt against ful” the differences will be j any losses growing'from the dif- patched up. ‘ ferences with Odium. tiful as in 1940 or jl935 and less than two-thirds as big as in 1929-30. Current year will see a composite dividend for the seven companies of $7.25. In 1946 it was $13.05, while in 1940 the figure was $3.45 and in 1935 $3.50. The 1929-30 boom period saw an $11.75 annual payoff to the shareholders. Net earnings follow the grosses only in a general sort of way. They hit their peak during the 1945-46 semester, a year prior to the top- grossing year, and then started to decline. What started to drive the earnings down in 1946 was the in- crease in production costs. Amor- tization of high-cost films took its 1 toll and w'asn’t checked until the major economies of 1947 and 1948 were reflected in an upturn of nets in 1949. Big slough in grosses, meantime, started to bite ih from the other end and pushed the net down this year. pattern of the nation and the world. They were high in the boom era, declined during the depression, spurted a bit during the comeback of 1937-38 and then declined until the war began to give them a real push. Gross income for the seven com- panies is as follows: 1929-30 •5.$5oo,000,000 1935 401,241,723 1937 479,466,566 1938 486,311,832 1939 478,520,879 1940 488,256,110 1941 489,096,003 1942 577,649,144 1943 751,856,669 1944 817,838,498 1945 841,781,756 1946 928,329,780 1947 954,006,264 1948 911,330,042 1949 865,044,828 1950 ’-^836,328,000 Per-share earnings of the majors are somewhat' trickier to figure than other statistical indices, since they are affected by the stock splits which have been made by a num- ber of companies. Here are the figures, however, as closely as they can be tallied: 1929-30 $18.91 1935 12.65 1937 13.44 1938 3.63 1939 8.23 1940 13.87 1941 23.63 1942 28.23 1943 34.04 1944 32.51 1945 25.39 1946 ; 33.67 1947 ...' 23.81 1948 7.64 1949 13.18 1950 ’M3.74 Dividend payments reveal. Grosses over the past 20 years followed pretty much the economic » of hbld- ers. In addition to the cash divvies, which are tabulated below, some companies, particularly Columbia, have at various times passed out stock dividends. Composite 'cash dividends for the As an exotic beauty of the South Sea islands she’s bewitching in her latest picture. Her skin is lovely as the hibiscus flow’er she wears in her hair. ^'Gentle Lux Soap care,’’ says Esther, 'keeps my complexion right for the close-ups. I wouldn’t neglect it.’’ Try these facials screen stars recommend. Smooth the creamy lather well in, rinse, pat with a towel to dry. Lux Soap’s active lather does the trick! Skin takes on fresh new beauty— so quickly! Grinieff-UA Continued from page 5 9 out of 10 Screen Stars use Lux Toilet Soap Prexy of Samuel Goldwyn Produc- tions was rumored for the spot sev- eral weeks ago. If owmers Mary Pickford and Charles Chaplin accept Grinieff’s plan it entails Initially the de- parture of the present manage- ment, which took over last July. Paul V. McNutt, who has drawn no money from the company, could stay on on that basis as chairman of the board if he desired. Gri- nieff’s aim, however, is to eliminate prexy Frank L, McNamee, who has been drawing $1,000 a week, and treasurer Max Kravetz, who has been drawing $650. Grad Sears is contemplated continuing as sales chief. Miss Pickford met with McNa- mee last week, but there have been no tangible results evident as yet. It is thought likely there will be action of some .sort within a matter of days, since it is now becoming imperative. Company’s losses are mounting dangerously. There appears to be no other succor on the horizon aside from that offered by Grinieff. That’s why that while prospects of his success in making a deal appeared slim a few weeks ago, they are now mod- erately good, according to well-in- formed sources. He claims to be seeking nothing for himself at the moment but to help UA. If he can help it over the present hurdle and then bring in money to put it on a permanent route to success, as he plans, he hopes eventually to be given foreign distribution of at least some of UA’s product.