Variety (March 1951)

Wnl wwJ> y t Mnreli 7 f lfS) EXCESSIVE DAY-DATING HITS B.O. ELC Sets Up 1 Production Funds Totalling $1,600,001) as Indie Lure PUBLIC LIMITLD Additional $500,000 Working Capital ♦< i J.a w N0« in tap aligned In wake of vf Wllila HfWf W iiH departure K«|W (Uulrt It now undertaking to p<fee Ml bid for Important pit to handle H no dream-world craving IHstrth ha* established two arpa rate product loo fund* totalling 11 dM.Md Setting the hefty credit avail* h4lH> further de ma n a t rale* the firm la fully determtyd to go to the mat with laMfiWrtMl In an unYielding rivalry far choice M PIC CHOICE Seen for UA Via New Krim Deal Coast aalea chief Continuing on the to 1 rxhlbs a likely ka uplift of theatre lo I Ike read the with J for Mtanley ll ruitr rr edu rtlona . rva |^ n | n g hooking achddule* to i” 1 " 1 ' - 4 fr *' 1 • CooaM o var tke week- |hj|f oonld knee a great ^ end lor It day* of kuddleo wMh n Ike Indie filmmaker It la expected that derision will foni i uUo . tK _ he made on future aalea policy on .. . Cyrano de Bergerac " Possibility I lh# tlM> ■ no 1 1 th* N T especially wore said to of any wide variety of prwgrama for the potential customer ‘Pagan Love Song and Dial lilt* comprised the hill at Jt Loew a spot* at the No tern thaa 10 KKO aitwat log erati n X " Large number of Indie In the area help relieve the aituo tion but M's felt mill further edy la Nil 16 Hot Prints si Called Artlata preay Arthur „ Brim la expected to ink a deal this will ELC Overhead «““! Cut to Low Ebb, !SF Aim* That ELC already P**rwd out and Aim will ke amt haa met with tome aurcoaa la ahowo Into regular Called Artlata release in it* releasing port* wltk David K«o*e. N. Peter lath von. Fidelity Pu t urea aM other*. New financing abo mean* EIjC will hove a participation in a num- ber of Indie Alma which the will distribute Camponv has not plan* to on it* own. H o w e ver. \ William C. Mar Mitten. EI.C preay. leela that substantial profit* out of distribution alone are un- certain and hope* to bolster the . dutrtba Income with a share ef ~ . it4 iBPIBl the revenue accruing to Indie pro- Kagle l.iun t las ic* ha rut it* ^ eondlliona la durwr* He Agure. the compmvv ZSTfiZ'ZZZal'Jtx'r ™ gre^s eam throughout the eouw ( »iwould realise a net of close to / m the L.»t try. observers bate adding the only flOg nog out of pfe partici pa t i on effected In the tost two year* Cotakill Mountain resort* Prints wore recovered in a Aim library on mfo supplied Hargoy A Stein. counsel for the la matters < ^ of their pit _ of Alma included l« from JOth-Foa. three from Paranmunt. two from Warner Bros . two from Universal and one from RKO. Among them were many lop-gram era of the p**t few log capital Jt will 2SA.AAA In operaling f by Waller B Heller the Krim group to* UA three weeki of the the $1 C o when of la being will he avail- to which UA wants to put M, investment In indie pro d uction hut will he kept intact oa an em e rgen c y to I n sure stability of the 9. ally to offer UA f durer who de a ler.. In Ms ptr. la give the dlatrih im i. narnuie*. tu A _ . SSrtSs # 8.000 Weekly Short-Term Loan SrS ps Reached by RKO With N. Y Bank to any will a participation In making an actual This la by providing r bond* for DOO.OOI In capital UA*s In mak on the Of I he two separate funds In IBM rpar i« directly an TAX* 'Continued an page 12 » mer, Lopert Reach Comoromtse as N.Y. Cyrano Ron Shifts Vl***le between Stanley Kra and llva Import over estensien of i hr n# Cyrano de Bergerac* be- wod the TO-seek guarantee at the IIiuh* theatre. N Y . haa ended in a compromise. Picture will wove lium tine Bijou to the Golden thea- tre April 4 ('My Investing Co. uhirh own* live Hi mu and lease* it to Lopert. i* tenting the Golden from the Shuhrrt* and uill participate uith Kramer In the run of the picture City Investing, a* part of the row- iMiwiw^e leading to the ntmeaner will *plit costa with Kra rvi.iMw adverti*mg campaifn In announce the switchover Cam- paign will cost around *20 000 Cl •* In he guarani red an undisclosed weekly Agure during the moveover encagemmt. Ki .mer a aqua h bl r started when la* Firm’s operation coots are said lo have been trimmed to MtOOO per week as ronpa r e d wttk IfOjBoo in the period from Jan nary through April. I04A, W Ilham C. Mac Mil lew ELC pres- l ideal la now said to he planning on ttirinf the Agure still further, j probably to $45 000 within the nest low month* lo Ms heavy Her. ELC haa t In the black consist- ently since last July, whew the with Film CUasftrs foil . Firm scored a profit e*tl at fluo 000 In the eight _.jth* which ended lost Feb. It. On the haal* of so average par distribution fee of #Kr, out At need* about *225.000 in total week- ly gro** to break even dom es tically. However, Arm also has non-U flL revenue coming in steadily which tContmued on page 15» Z Vn Seek Moss Hart to Do Screenplay on Sherwood Story About the Theatre effect iy r OMtnhie Krim Is t of of the UA to the ftituatioo as Kravetz Hints Suit RKO hat completed a grew moot with the Banker* Co.. N. Y.. lo provide the with whatever coin M leeo now and Oct. I. It , la expected that by that time RKO UA will either take a i will have determined more pre- of prodta or will get cisety Hs A*col r equirement* and a increasing the dialr new long term Anancing orra I ment will he worked out. Coin which honker* will availakle on d e mand may he u*r« /* •• g% the Howard lOWdiO UUSt BBBF feeing two actually varsa- lt* cut hv fee after make t Continued on Iff" Mas Xravetr who engineered the Paul McNutt-Frank MrNamee deal for United Artist* control, returned lo Hollywood last Saturday <1* after washing up kb official con- nection wMh company. Kravrti was non-commit* I on future plans but indicated he was consideiing legal conspiracy action apuist UA top- Mum Hart Ha* been tapped by w ^ Cinema Production* to write live 7>«*rt wanted to yank^he picture screenplay for Main Street to Target* of the *uM. M wo* hinted ild ke UA Mary Ptrkford. Chories Chaplin Arthur Krim Robert Benjamin Malty Fox Mc- Nutt and MrXamer. Matter rest* In hand* of Kraveti’* attorney Sot It If decision lo Ale b •ult uill ke docketed in Nr* York around March 15 Kraveti. one of the (Continued on page 111 Uncertainty a* to will ke required between suck will ke • long term barn* grow* port tally out of Ranker* parallel Anancing deal for the Jerry Wald Norman Krasna Indie unit at KKO Wald Krasna poet with the hank b now being worked out If the unit Is able to deliver to RKO thr tContinued on pate TO• May Be Tied to New Crack at Hifkes Deal J rhai the C Cow din. former hoard of Universal headed for the weekend Cow* serving oa negotiator and intermediary foe a Wall street group whack has been interested in acquiring Howard llughe* hold- ings in RKO INrture* or RKO WM. SELWYN TO MORO Holly wood March A William Selwyn checked into Monogram aa casting director for Monogram and Ms afAllate Allied Artists Although Cow din’* earlier effort* at a deal with Hughe* produced no results. It b assumed has present Coast visit I* for the purpose of another crock at the deal It b hr- lieved that in addition to negntl* He previously wa* associated dim with Hughes Cow din would rim S-.m M»>, K»lerpr.M. P*»» “ part .a aprr.- Mrtra a ad atber, <a tfc* aamr '«■ •? "** a deal alter live 20 week* in order to bm*k in Td»f* of Hoffmann." whack he I* distributing in the U. 8. George Rrhorfer. Kramer* veepre. pro- tested on grounds that business iu*lifWd continuance of the run Contract stipulated that laapcrt and Schaefer were to discuss continu- ance of the run after the lAth week had passed Kramer wa* hvirned by lovpcrt’* advertising of an opening date for “Hoffmann Iw-ltHe I lie Broadway." which Cinema will Aim in association with Council for the Living Theatre Foundation llarl is holding off Anal dec! until he return* from a int trip to the Const Recent ill may prevent him from doing the chore Producer I .ester Cowan said vrslrrd.iv • Two* » that he planned lo talk with Car*on Kanin Kranze Sues Ciaecolor On Salary Claim He i Hard Kra rue A led suit In NY. federal court last * w rek against ( nrr.tlor Corp . seeking to recover lM* k salary alleged due him Plain- tiff claims that Chaecolor. i Arm of the defunct Film guaranteed hi* compensation he served a* FC geueral sale* man- ager Under a three-year deal, ac- cording to the complaint. *2* 4 id remain* unpaid, while another *11.- ix mi is owed mm tws-ye of th* National Boxoffice Survey m Lent, Flu, WcRlhcr Clip Trade; ‘Payment’ Still Chmmp, ‘Born’ Again 2d, ‘Enforcer' Third The weather. Lent and Au are promi*mgl» on basis of thi* week * bring blamed for the ho soft ice dip trade Target Unknown • t» this slaiua Dearth of new product loom- a* having as much poleo and failure on part of some new tialMte* a* any hut «mi big *o far m* to catch on al«o are responsible *’Molly’’ 'Par*, formerlv tested LIU Kazan a* powsitMiitie* lor thr ^ ,U;gguhnes* Many under original tag of The Goid directorial stint. Cast principal* o| rountrN reported heavy berg*." b very lightweight in two will he selected within two week* n L m ^ ,, g guubtful If thb wa* I*. A. house* "U BS Teaketlb but. in a switch of usual procedure. —^ -■— *- director u ill not he packed until after lead* are art. Meanwhile. Robert E Sherwood ha* completed the story, which trace* theatrical career of a young couple from the slicks to thr hag time. At bast 12 top legit name* will have featured role* in the tC ontinued on page 201 Hughes b under obligation lo the federal antitrust statutory court In New Years to sell hi* hold- ing* in either the pacturr company or theatre companv. They were separated under a consent decree last Jan I. Hughes holds m.000 share* In each Theatre company stark has been trudeed Korda Back to England After Talks With Krim too damaging excepting in Los • 20th». another m w rn nsar.^ Angeles Heavier income lase* and sluggish in N Y. but neai in I of tax date also likely cut Philly. lightning Strikes Twice till I \VRokay in Buffalo, b not Pacing field Hus round b ‘ Pay promising elsewhere. "Climb lligh- I m mi Demand RKO*. which c*l Maintain tlOlh*. also new wa* champ also last week New Ipoh- okay In Louisville bui di* Belle Davb pic b not coming appointing in other ke>* tnffa LAWRENCE Kranze who b . - .. general sales manager at Eagle suit maneuvering within the Aim I um Classics assert* be agreed to Industry b believed to have work aa FC sales chief on the negotiated in the strength of a Dec 10. 1*47. con- cult brought by Joseph L trart For the Ar*t three years he re nee Theatre* against Paramount, »v m get MHO weekly Extension Warner Bros . 2otb-Fox and «»thers. iwrhwl called for *1 000 per week Plaintiff operates four theatre* in Sale* ever charges Onecolor this city and «ix others in the %m hi - rhed the pact In July. MM. rov*nding lerritorx, w»-en he demanded oa* ment of the Lawrence hgvres to collect uell to.n *H»e *»*»d the de'.ndaqt alleged- over *2niao a* ha*a« lac, acttle- I) iriii-rd la turn aver the m oney, ment, II was reported. through with a* strong as a week i| b going to Born Yestrr day" * Col i while t WB i b pushing up lo Hurd i Acsa r L - ■ ■ . I jjrilT 3 GU> ' N4 *^ M,kr ’ I ^SfKi SFTTLEMENT '+ '“ ,h I ~ JWJ JL I 1 L Lin Lit I (|)) u Alth Salt Lake Cty. March • posit ion Latter was seventh last of the hrftiest cash settle atanxa Sixth monr> b going to nt* in recent private antitrust "Cry Danger* tMKO*. whack was third a week ago _ a ■ ievsnlk slat b being taken aver h) "Vengeance Valley’* «M<i» while Storm Warning" « WB* will he eighth. "Call Me Mister" < 20th j and September Affair" «Pari complete the Biz 10 list In that order Top runner up pix are "Slael Helmet* (Lip t. Bedtime for Bno mi * IU ♦ (WB* in that Jew new vehicles shape up "Cyrano" lUA» b doing okay in N Y_ Chicago and Frisco "Mudlark * shape* up big in On "Kim" l M-Gl b okay in *low Seattle 'Cowboy and Bedhead i Par*. |ust getting under wav. b fair in Providence but mild in Seattle. "Cause For Alarm’ • MG • b light in MinnrapoUs and weak in Detroit "12 Latter" (TvXh» b mild in N. Y and Frisew "Watch Birdie" "Undercover Girl" IU» has a g«»d (M-G • shapes big in In prospect In "Yank In Korea" «Cel». A nr in okay in L. A., b In Philly "Mystery Is oke in Omaha Sir Alexander Korda who was In New York far a week's v KM. rrturned to England last Friday iRa. Whib in the U. S. hr con- fabbed with United Artist* prexy Arthur B Krim an prospects of working out joint distribution and production oversea* He also hud- dled extensively with Ilya laapert. of Loprrt Film* Distributing . wktrh h andle s kb product m the U. 8 Korda’s brother, Zollau b due in New York from England March 22 on kb way to the Coast to see tab family He ha* been In Africa making "Cry the Beloved Country" for Sir Alex He’ll he in the U S al Sapsfy Biz Dora 50*, Hollywood March ff. Supply and equipment Arms, dealing wMh picture theatre*, re- ft slump mi KFr In b« year, a pretty mi condMiona at the box- i Complete Bojrmftct l^rpprtj #n One Wading Pape* A $#. * • further decline.