Variety (March 1951)

ri« ti km ♦ Marrh 7 , mi Lewis-Martin- At War’ Champ in Feb., ‘Born’2d, Operation Pacific’3d, Mr.’4th “-3rS2s • , who wont to buy la la Par Has 25-Pic Block For Small Fihibilors With addition oI II pktum la P5 film wnal I-situation exhiba Uruguay Fest Picks Italian Pdm; Names Swanson, Hull Top Actresses public's current yen for# l> was midi) illu*trated b> thr strength showa by laugh vehl- ties ia the February bosofftce •« ce p rt akes “At War With Army* ! I Par i was national rhamp. while * dura Yesterday •Cal** another Comedy raptured •econd plara. j “At War * wa« Ms. 1 lamt month Si a an amarine estimated 81.108 dial grwssed ia theatres In *ome 24 key rities roared by V vaitrr in February Dean MartlodetTy Lewis ptc pnomite* ta be one of the bur«l grnuri^ of 1431 for Para- pitnnal Comedy about Army life iM*t mIi hum up «oh to tern Ac totals but held up nicely where gii ra additional play »ng ' tme. A in) Mrang second place win »-r lor February was Born Yes- terday * •Col*, wInch footled some exhibitors by Its sustained strength, probably having more extended run da;es than any Aim in months. Third spot went to "Operation p.„ iPe" . attesting to the 5 resent treat bnxoAWe draw of o!»n Wayne. Wavne stairer waa iiitong the leaders most of the month Call Me Mister* -JOthl pulled up loaurth. Its winning of sec- ond position one week tie I pint this pewed Betty Grable Dan Dailey pri'ical to achieve this status. "Kim" MG». fourth in Janu- Added pix are releases t April Feb. Golden Dozen 1. “At War With Army * (Par». Born Yeslerdav * *fn• »». Operation PartAc** 'MU. Call Me Mister" 30th I. Hb" • M c.» Payment Demand" «RKO» "Tomahawk M «l’*. 'September A (fan 'Pari. Tyram* *VAK * Mails \lonteruma 20th K “\enteance \alley ‘M-G*. “Horsej/ it». S. r 4. 1 A. 7. A. • IA II 12 . “Molly/ ‘Quebec.* Kid.** "Appointme i Last Outpost .** “Dear Brat." “Passage West/ “Ac* in the Hole ' "Warpath/ “A Place in the Sun* and That • My Boy/ Doyleslown (Pa.) Co. Asks 1 375G Damages in Sait i To Force ll Oat of Biz Philadelphia. March A In a four-part action against a rival Ihealreowner. a leasing cor- poration and seven mayor Aim dia- mbs. the Key Theatre Corp. of Doyleslown. Pa. sought 3373.004 in damages and a preliminary re- straining injunction in a suit A led here before U. ft. District Judge Geocge A. Welsh last week •!>. Named as the principal defend- ant is Charles Kahn, owner of the county theatre Dux leslow n and the complaint charged in effect F.xeea pushing for development lhat Kshn ^ expired with the w® all-embracing system of arbi* ofAcers of I ho recently-formed (ration as a cure for liade squab Country Theatre Corp and the Aim hies are more itrsi irv» • t! than ever in4 j #r% to force the Key theatre that the rod to intra-industry eilher ou( * business or in sell peace is entirely uphill, with new See Tougher Uphill Battle On Arbitration Competition Holly wrood. March A. DsitY VaairrY'i polls on I he Oscar Derby In year* have been so that the Acade m y of Picture Arts and ftcienres has requested Its members to keep their ktg mouths shut when asked bewr they are voting Idea to that (he Vaatmr poll eliminates the Dertn s chief a s*et—suspense. Last year's poll waa a clean sweep, printed (be day before the big show. Indie Distribs To Advance Coin For Fromkess Outfit t headed by I .eon distribution From- which will | state also likely will be ,hf P ,an are pci\ateh admit- ^ altitude (here was only . h in the future. ,ln § cxhib-disti <h hannonv on a tmf on9 theatre In the town. Kahn 1 i was seventh, u^wmour ha'i' •* 1 ’ r>rin A went through (He motions of put Dai is starter heard from mu< Tomahawk out Alms of which much Continued on page 30* in immediate view. tins un a Uuonsrt hut film While Allied States uaorhy. the complaint averred, and false ru m ors of hank- MPAA s Casty Sees Italo-U. S. Pix Snarl Being Worked Out Despite tire impasse that ka» de- erloped ia negotiations over a |tak» t ft Aim accord Motion lure Assn of S meric a Hi -t ant tally continues as a holdout even if «" s eventually joins nipgcy about the Key. which af- the Aim Arms and Theatre Owner* the Anancing of the house of America in an arbitration ph»)- and also kurt them with the public act. there s no assurance it vndd Of major Interest waa Kahn s resent alive George Canly feeU that MrhttrMte ^ and which shouldn't It's an "adjustable situation Ar- riving In New Yack Monday *3* on the lie de France, he expressed that a formula for a agreement will be hut bed out * 7'antv will confer with MPAA International di vision director John G. McCarthy this also will report to tba lion s board In addition he ll art g« a liaison man between t v . ft In- dustry reps when they meet next week with an Italian ii group Latter sailed fr boorg yesterday «Toes • on ihe Queen Marv and are due to arrive In New York ftundav 11 Delegation will comprise Fran- cesco Penotti peer of the Italian Distributors As*n ; Italo Gemini. •Continued on page Id* b» rompl».rl» for -o.w w hl , Ihe County 11 ••' ofl '” Thralit Cor*. I»t Ortobrr (l,ud» of both Allied and TOA are not rContinned on pane IS* free to commit their members to ' any plan which is devised, and i i t* -° m » »*•>•<«>“■ •" 1950 Tax Totals Indicate known to have conflicting ideas on .»-»*-•— *■ Drop It Film Cimk*; Tlwatres’ Jl,426210000 Washington March A Tax Agures for 1450 provided by ilie Treasury Dept this week indicated a drop of just about A'» from the previous year in Aim bo Pointing this up Is the proposal advanced by some t heat remen which provides for the arbitral ion 'Continued on page 2H Griffis Usloafs 6,000 Of Par’s Common Slock copied as wholly reliable mdse a- * RViVm New company kesa and be Ananeed partially by rights distribt handling the net. will have Its by the Independent exchange men at a meeting te be held Feb 17 in Chicage. ftank money will supple- the indies* advance rentrart with as v p of latter's ipany expires April 13. also has held talks utth Jack Broder. head of Realart, on a joint production deal. Latter project, however now appears tn be deubtful in view mi plan te launch new indie company. Broder however, may Agure in the setup. Decker, whe recently void hit l.ippcrt Produc tionv haruhi*e to parent company, baa been contact- ing prospective franchise and has been doing the work pending Fromkess' exit f Goldwyn A tentative program of 18 pictures during the Aral year of operation baa been mapped out. Company may also handle distri- bution af pix. Before joining Goldwyn. F kru was president of PRC, Decker, before going tn Los Angeles about 13 'ears ago. waa a ttate-righter in Detroit. March A. Film Festival up at Punts Aal Kata today I with an Italian entry. To Is Tun Late/ cop p ing the Grand Prtao aa the beet Aim. Pre- lure treats with sexual education far adolescents Giuseppe A mat a produced end Leonide Moguy di- rected from bis own story Anna Marta Pie range I i la featured In the pic. fte«t performance af an actress was deemed te be that of Gloria Swanson In Paramount'« Sunset Boulevard / Voted the hast short was tailed Productions' ‘'Gerald McBolng Botng*' which Columbia is releasing Best actor waa Michel Simon for his stint la Rene Clair s Beauty and the Devil/ Others bests included Josephine Hull, for her support in "Harvey ; J iisno lleraandrt. for his support- ing work in “Intruder In the Dust"; director Michellengelo Antonioni for his guidance mi "Story of Love/ and the sound In-4he Brit- ish entry. ‘ Seven Days te Noon * 41 Alma were submitted in tourney. Of these II were the Holly w For Punts del Kale has here Ihe fun- of the southern half af South But this year Punts del ia outdoing Ra own rep at thousands Bock la for the Inter- national film festival 301 Okla., Texas Eihib I nisi Cm ftm Their Fesd Via Mails Oklahoma City. March A. Moms Loewensteie. president of Theatre Owners mi Oklahoma and Col. H. A. Cole, head ef Allied Theatre Owner* ef Texas, are con- tinuing their food via . open letters' te each ether. Letter writ- ing battle started when Col# launched plan te set up aa Allied unit lu Oklahoma COLS 660C NET TRAILS YEAR AGO Stanton Griffis Paramount exec determinable (actors go into them imittee chairman, has unlunded For what they're worth. Bureau A.000 shares of the Arm s common of Internal Revenue statistics re stock, which he held directly or as veal that total box off ice income trustee for Ihe three Grill is trusts collected by Aim theatres during an the N V Sun k exchange IMO waa $1 424 21A.000. compared U. ft Ambassador to Spam he «nn approximately $1 312 000 for Mil! regains Ihe Par corporate title) (he preceding 12 months gifted I 000 of bis own shares and sold 1.330 others reducing his di- rect ownership to 2 000 shares He «old 3 030 share* held by the Nixon. Frances and W, I GrtAia trust* reducing these holdings tn 2.000 j| f |BI i pay are generally Data is based on tax col led ions for all forms of sports and en- tertainment except nightclubs. Total taxes wort 3330.332.023. collected from Feb. I. 1030 to Jan • by theatres during one In other stock arttvitv reported month for tax— collected at the this week. Warner Bros followed be during the previous month i. of About MPa af the levy is gen erally accepted as representing Aim house income. That's one of the rubs, however, in using Ike Agures as ti puffs tn bu. ti j ones at all sure of that lof ;atio— N. Y. to L A. Pier Angel! Kruger Babb Juan Bennett Joe E Brown Maureen Cusack Allred K Daff Charles K Feldman Abner J. Grethler Helen Hayes Columbia profit ia the torrent through on its ft«ral vear continues to trail earn- retiring 323 000 shares ol iw In * <>f a year ago Firm reports man. rutting the capitalisation to a r.r« of 3370 000 for the quarter A.772 000 shares, ended la*! Dec 3A. bringing the Alan. United Paramount The- total for the Arvt six months of a I res revealed an additional 33 384 the current Awal year to 3440.000 certiorates of interest have been which is purely a guess, ine origin For the same quarter in the converted into regular common of which hat long since been Inal previous year, the Arm had a proAt shares, upping the total to 2A32- in limbo. Since sportv. midget auto nl 144101)0 Net lor the corre- 732 UPT now hat CIO 323 cer- races, roller derbies and dose ns aito* ding six month period was liAcales of interest still In be con- of other types of competing en §443 non Net raisings lor the six verted l^teManth* ended last Dec 30 equalled SHlE Charles Hunt John Jos e ph Lenny Kent Max Kraveti George Lalt Angela Lana bury Herman Levy David A Lipton Robert Merrill Pat O Brien Stirling SiUiphant Gael Sullivan Un charges made by Cole the Allied leader came back with another letter in which he claimed a member af TOO's board had rouse to the Texaa unit for help ia a Aim buying problem. Latest move in the battle of the mailboxes la Loewenateins reply to Cole. Oklahoma leader wrote that he could not subscribe lo the inference that Allied rendered any iContmued on page IA» L A. to N. Y. Andrews Bisters Jim A mesa Richard Carlson Hal Clifton C Roy Ken Engiund Maurice Ev ans Jerry Fairbanks f 8 l*er common share, as against A 22 per ahare in the pr ev i ous period, rakulalcd on the 434.311 share* outstanding at (be end af Bulb periods Col Employees Bonused On Entering the Service Employee* of Columbia Pictures who enter the Armed Forres will ••» *bout the tertamment have moved in on pix in the past decade, considerably less than the AtTc may now repre- *ent Aim income. Admission taxes for December, reported by the Treasury over the weekend, were 324 843 033. This as the previous William H. Wright Alan Young Adolph Zukor N. Y* to Europe El he I Bartlett Cedi receive a bonus Newly instituted policy Is retroactive to Jan. 23 1430 Maximum grants will be 3200 for those with six months Ik. December taka in the 29% bite on nitery checks was 33 233, 133, a slight lilt over Novi Judgment Vs. Blake De Luxe laboratories. Inc , neck won a N. Y. supreme court Judgment of 38 448 against B K. Blake. Ine. producer of theatrical pany service and 3400 for workers gliofls and (ommerrial Alms Lab «k|| « year s service. ai mi \ .,* *'-*nicd judgmrnt of 33 Scale calla for a two week salary 84 i gainst Blake as an indiv idual . . HUke. lor. «rordm« lo *.prr, « r *"' '• •*•'■<•« '« Al.d in supreme court, failed to military duty alter six months writer s estate nay De Luxe for work performed service and four weeks pay for Yarns involved in the deal are In Ihe period from Jan. 10. 1449. those who leave after one year. The Ransom of Red Chief/ The |o June 8 of the same year. Levy To qualify, ihe employee must in- Cop and the Anthem/ “Cupid a la agooinst Blake himself arose from form Columbia of his call lo duty Carte/ “Clarion Call/ “For Each in non-payment o i a promissory and actually enter ihe armed According to His Ability.“ ‘The note. Both judgments were won forces within a month after leav- l^st Leaf/ “Snow Man’* and "The * default. ing the Arm. World and the Door/ 20th s 0. Henry Rights Hollywood. March 8. Titles of right O. Henry stones were registered by 20th Fox as a result of a deal with the late I Compton Bennett Archie BUrk Nate J. Blum berg Katharine Cornell Faye Emerson Darrell Fancourt Gerard Fay C. S. Forrester Mike Frankovkh Lew Grade Van Heflin Skitrh Henderson Dame Myra Hess W. Martyn-Green Rudolph Mate Guthrie McClintic David Niven Donald O'Connor Rae Robertson Rosa Bill Ruth Paul Gregory Amnara Iturbt dam “ Jerry j Rudolph Mata Irving Mills Esther Mmriotti ftyhrlo MineMXti Carlton E David Niven Lloyd Nolan Donald O C« Harry Pupkin Debbie Reynolds David K. Rose Roy Rowland Margaret Sheridan Peter Shaw John L. Sinn Spy ros P. Skouras Steve Slesinger Barry Sullivan Europe to N. Y. Dominque Blanchar Jose Iturbi Louis Jouvet John W'ayne Herbert 'J. Yates . « i- • • ♦ •