Variety (February 1951)

PICTURES Wednesday, February 7„ 19,51 Ulontezuina’ 2d, Bing-Hliisic’ 3d “Harvey*’ (U), never dipping be- + low sixth place all month, was win- ner of the national boxoffice sweep- stakes in January, according to re- ports from Variety correspondents in 24 representative key cities. The Lissim to Hdtr. in N. Y. <20th)i Wladimir Lissim, former RKO! European chief and currently Con- \ legit comedy, with James Stewart j tinental manager for Sir Alexander i starred in the-film version, finished ; Korda’s British Lion, is,; switching 1 first two weeks in a row and was [to Latin American distribution top- fourth another session, winding up! per for BL and Korda product, the month with an estimated $860,- ! He’ll headquarter in che producer’s 000 total gross. , New York offices. - “Halls of . Montezuma” (20(h), : No Korda or BL films have been With one first place, wound up see- ' distributed in Latin America for ond for the month. Some of the more than 10 years. Lissim is due holdover playdates did not measure in the U. S. to take over the chore tip comparatively with the first; Feb. 21. weeks, but high-ranking two other , — ' . ■ . • • • ■— weeks, plus more than $770,000 coin gross total, held it near the -lOP “Mr. Music” (Par) finished third, shaping up to the potential indi- cated in the final week of Decem- ber. Bing Crosby' starrer was sec- ond. third and then seventh, during January: Fourth money went to “Kim” (M-G)., The Rudyard Kip- ling story did not quite shape up to the big grossing category indi- cated by its run at the N. Y. Music i Hall. 1. “Harvey” ;(jj). 2. “Halls Mohtezuma” 3. “Mr. Music 1 ’ (Par). 4. “Kim” (M-G). ’: 5. “Dallas” (WB). 6. “Branded” (Par). 7. “Pagan Love Song” (M-G). 8. “Heaven’s Sake” (20th). 9. Vendetta” "(RKQ).‘ 10. -‘Grounds Marriage” (M-G). ; _t -L- ± Average Nipponese- made pic J “Dallas.” r\VB) took fifth money glasses more than twice its Holly- ; for the month, ;witH “Branded” wood counterpart in Japan, but. all' (Par) a sturdy sixth. “Pagan Love the exceptional, b.o. hits there are! Song” (M-Gh of which much had; either U. S. — or Britisli-produced. ■ been expected, was Seventh, while That was disclosed by Morris Hel- “For. Heaven’s Sake” <20th) was. prin, American rep. for Sir Alex- ; considerably weaker in eighth spot ' ander Korda, following his return ; “Vendetta” (RKO) managed to taxe ' last week from a month’s trip to ' over ninth position, with “Grounds i Tokyo. ' ‘ ’’ | for Marriage” (M-G) rounding out. “Red Shoes” is the top-grosser the Big 10 list in last place. in Japan currently by a big mar- Runnerup films were “Frenchie” , gin and may. well prove the all- (U). “King Solomon's Mines” (M- time champ, Helprin reported; It i G). “Never Dull Moment” (RKO) has taken in almost 85,000,000 yen! and “Mudlark” (20th). Showing by (about $280,000) in distributor’s! “Mines” was all the more remark- ■i Continued on page 61) Deal for 12 Monogram Having terminated its arrange- ment for releasing Republic films in England, Sir Alexander Korda’s British Lion distributing outfit is reaching out to obtain other U. S. and foreign product. It has closed a deal for 12 westerns with Mono- gram and has acquire^, rights from Jules Levey for the Italian-made “Fabiola.” Product is used mostly by BL to fill in double bills, the same dis- trib in .England normally providing both ends of diiallers.' It got about 30 pix a year for this purpose from Republic under the arrangement gross and is calculated to wind up with approximately 125,000,000 yen ' ($417,000), Korda rep said. j The average domestic pic grosses about 40,000,000 yen ($125,000) and the average’ Hollywood product about 16,000,000 yen (about $50,- 000), according to Helprin. The j high in film rentals for Nippon pix j is about 75,000,000 yen and their production cost runs a b o u t 28,- (Continued on page 20) Schumann Heirs For Metro’s Biog Picture Charging Metro produced and exhibited a picture based on the life of Robert Schumann without their consent, four heirs of the late composer have filed suit in N. Y. on‘which the two distribs called j supreme court against Loew’s, Inc., quits at the end of last year. i Metro’s parent company. More than The Mono oaters are the Whip: $5,000,000 damages are sought in Wilson-Andy Clyde series. The j 56 causes of action. These relate “Fabiola” deal was made with Levy to every state ; in the union as well since he owns all English-speaking as Alaska, Hawaii and other coun- rights. He was recently in Eng-1 tries of the world where the film land to set the final pact, follow- was screened, ing preliminary negotiations in this Plaintiffs in’the action are Rob- country with Morris Helprin, ert, Clare and Walter. Schumann as Korda’s - rep here. j well as Marie Personius, all of Washington, Feb. 6. Civil Def ense Administration asked film theatres yesterday (Mon- day) to shut down at a time of imminent air raid. CDA at same time asserted that picture houses have a definite part to play in the civil defense program. The CDA position, requested by Council of Motion Picture Organ!- > zationS, was declared to be as fol- ■ lows: “Motion picture, theatres have a definite part to play in the civil defense effort. -During off hours, such as Saturday mornings, they can offer their facilities to local civil defense officials for training, films, orientation classes and other meetings concerned with the over- all program. Local civil defense directors would welcome such evi- dence of a desire to cooperate. “The Civil Defense Administra- tion has not recommended that ex- hibitors close their doors during periods of emergency. However, in general, it is not recommended that the public gather in large numbers in any area of buildings when an enemy attack is believed possible within a matter of hours. “Theatres, although they have the advantage of being window- less, generally offer . no special protective features against enemy attack. Theatres surviving an at- tack would be useful for registra- tion of the homeless and for sim- ilar purposes. It is believed that the sense of public responsibility exhibited by the entertainment in- dustry in the past will suggest that operators of amusement enter- prises offer their facilities to local civil defense directors without de- lay.” Pair of indie-produced pix, both acquired: after they were, corp- pldted, are going to give a hefty hypo to Paramount profits this year. , They are “At War With the Army/* Dean Martin-Jerry Lewis starfer, which was produced by Abby Greshler’in associa- tion with Fred Finklehoffe, and “Trio,” a British production from the J. Arthur Rank headquarters. Both pix are doing top biz. Par’s deal for “Army” provided for an advance to Greshler and Finklehoffe of $800,000 on acceptance of the negative. Iri return it gets one-third of the profits after recoupment of the advance and costs of prints, advertising, distribution and miscellaneous charges. It also gets a 35% distribution fee for releasing the film. Deal looked particularly good to the producers when Par made it, since the picture only cost then) about $450,000. Thus they were able to pay off all their loans and stow away a neat profit before “Army” played its first date. Deal , appears less advantageous now, of course, with the tremendous b.o. presenting the prospect of a U. S.- Canadian gross of $3,000,000 or better. Par’s share of the profit on that h^sis will be upwards of $500,000. “Trio” was bought outright by Par for the U; S. market. Com- pany paid £100,000 for it out of frozen coin, of course. That would be $280,000 at the official rate of exchange* $2.80, which is some- what more than distribs are ordinarily able to realize on blocked pounds. The Rank film is being teed off in art houses, with Par watching carefully for opportunities to get it into regular com- mercial theatres. It’s thus been able to line up 11 key engage- ments in Philly by taking advantage of a week when no top pix were coming off the Warner Bros, circuit for the subsequenis. Similar bookings have been obtained in Chicago. With only 18 engagements played so far. “Trio” has grossed $168,000. Only expenditure against that, aside from normal distribution, was about $30,000 in advertising. To B.O. Set by Par in N.Y. Meet to Helprin is currently on the prowl for more product for BL release. , Wanger Testifies In Mich. Anti-Trust Suit ' • - ; • Detroit, Feb. 6. Deposition was given by pro- ducer Walter Wanger in the anti- :trust suit instituted by the Society of Independent Motion picture. Producers against United Detroit Theatres and Cooperative Theatres of Michigan. Although the action was filed close to two years ago, activity in tlie case has been limited so far to the depositions of indie pro- ducers. Name* Robbins Herman Robbins, prez of Nation- al Screen Service, last week was named chairman of the Amuse- ments Division of the Joint De- fense Appeal campaign in greater New York. His appointment Was disclosed by Harry Brandt, chair- man of the JDA Campaign Cabinet. As chairman of the division, Rob- bins will, mobilize support for the drive throughout the entertainment industry. JDA is the fund-raising arm of the American Jewish Com- mittee and the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith. Half the whom allegedly are the composer’s grandchildren. Object of their legal displeasure is the 1947 Metro release. “Song of Love,” which shows Schumann died of a mental disease. Paul Henreid played the title role in the pic, while" Kath- arine Hepburn was his wife. Clar- ence Brown produced: Suit came to light ^ast week when Loew’s moved to dismiss the complaint. Justice Aron Steuer declined to toss put the action, but ordered, the plaintiffs to submit an amended complaint before! March 1. The rambling nature, of the alle- gations, the court ruled, “virtually [defeats an answer.” jurist also pointed out that the complaint fails to state whether damages are sought for libel or an invasion of privacy. “There is no complaint of the accuracy Of these (the mental ill- ness sequences);” Justice Steuer j noted in his opinion, “or any other incidents i* the picture, or that Schumann was portrayed in an un- favorable light. The grievance of the action is that the composer’s affliction was previously known to few and is now known to many.” Exhibs Fight Sunday Baseball Minneapolis, Feb. 6. North Central Allied is fighting a*bill in the North Dakota legisla- ture to legalize Sunday baseball. n9 H A „ U) u fl Cft nonnnn „ v Theatres, now permitted to oper- WughHn New Yorfc i [ion”" Sunday - tear ‘he competl- 4 • > j it ELC, Rank End Irving Rubine, vicepresident of. Stillman Productions, has left New 1 York for Memphis for the opening.I Friday (§) of the unit’s “Sound of I Fury” at the Regent theatre. He’ll follow this with a trip to San Francisco for the pic’s preem in that city and will be back in N. Y. late this month. He was in Boston last week for the preem there. Eagle Lion Classics and J. Ar- thur Rank yesterday (Tues.) ter- minated their mutual releasing con- tract. Pact was not due. to expire until the end of this year. Both Sides were in favor of end- ing the reciprocity arrangement un- der which ELC distributed some Rank pix in the western hemi- sphere and Rank handled the ELC product in the eastern hemisphere. Both sides will continue to dis- tribute the' films already delivered under the agreement. Consequently ELC will not find it necessary to immediately align itself with a new dlstrib to replace. Rank* Top Rank product wilt continue through Universal in the U. S. It’s figured the firms which other- wise would go through ELC will now be handled by indie distribs. Bd. Reelects All AMPP icers; Johnston Prez Hollywood, Feb. 6. Annual meeting of the board of directors of the Association of Mo- tion Picture Producers, Inc., yes- terday (Monday) resulted in re- election of all incumbent officers. Those who continue in office are Erie Johnston, president; Y, Frank Freeman, boajrd chairman; Louis K. Sidney, v.p.; B. B. Kahane, v.p.; Charles S. Boren, v.p. in charge of industrial relations; and James S. Howie, secretary-treasurer. Board of Central Casting Corp. also met yesterday to reelect all officers. They are; Freeman, presi- dent; Fred S, Meyer, veepec and board chairman; Howard R. Phil- brick, exec v:p.| and Howie* secre- tary-treasurer* .■( > ? * » •»■ < , < Bidding Vs. Each Other on Spain Out, Yanks Agree As a means of coping with the distasteful procedures involved in distributing pix in Spain, U, S. film companies have agreed to refrain from bidding against each other for film licenses in that country. Ac- tion was taken last week in a meet- ing with Stanton Griffis, recently appointed U. S. ambassador to Spain. " Practice has been for the Span- ish government to allocate a cer- tain number of distribution licenses to its own local producers. They in turn have been selling them to the Americans* who have bid the price up to as much as $20,000 per pic. Market’s revenue yield hardly warrants such a price. Last week's decision means there will be no more such vying for a license. Instead, it’s understood, a formula will be established deter- mining a periodic allocation of per- mits Tor each company. N Y. to L A. Tallulah Bankhead Maurice Evans Dave Kapp Jerry Lewis Dean Martin Robert Newton Don Prince Milton Rackmil Harry Stern Lou Walters N. Y. to Alfred de Liagre, Jr. Ivor Novello Charles P. Skouras Spyros P. Skouras Julie Wilson Europe to N. Y. Pietro Bullio Sarah Churchill A. A. Collins Russell Collins Walter Crisham Suzanne Danco Elisabeth Deval Gait Kubik Jack Payne Billy Wilder Robert S. Wolff • i * While having announced its prod- uct position as best in the firm s history, Paramount has adopted a policy of caution regarding future production and releasing skeds. Gist of the plan is to await de- velopments in business conditions before charting too specific a course. However, improvement has been spotted and if this continues to any marked degree. Par will in- crease its releases from the cur- rent two per month to five every two months. Tied in with this, of course, is whether to keep production at the same pace with distribution of pix or to cut in on the backlog. Out- fit now has 23 films awaiting re- lease or in editing stages. Such accumulation of product can be economically detrimental, of course, if a. recession develops. Thus the lensing policy for the fu- ture will be flexible, attuned to the ups and downs in trade Operations from month to month. Example of the difficulties of a heavy backlog of top-budgeters is shown in the case of “Carrie,” which co-stars Laurence Olivier and Jennifer Jones. This was com- pleted last November but cannot be placed on the release lineup Until next year. Announcement of the robust product position was made by prexy Barney Balaban following (Continued on page 18) Montague Donates Stock Washington, Feb. 6, Report from the Securities and Exchange Commission discloses Co- lumbia sales chief Abe Montague gave away 600 of his 7,277 shares of Col common. He also owns war- rants for 10,426 shares. Also reported was the sale of 525 shares of Universal common stock by board member John G. Eide 11 . board member. He now owns 6,475 shares. L. A. to N. Y. Eve Arden Mary Baker Bohzo Joseph I. Breen Helena Carter Richard Derr William Dozier George Gale Cedriq Gibbons ,L. Wolfe Gilbert . >: Justin Gilbert Milton Graff;. Richard Greene Abner Greshler Irene Hervey Allan Jones Otto Lang Diana Lynq Dick Moore Jane Pickens Harry Popkin Dick Powell Herbert Silverberg Paula Stone Pi*eston Sturges H. B, Warner J. Arthur Warner Jerome Weidman Jesse White . .« I t' * . > v M « • * <’ ‘