Variety (August 15, 1951)

Tieup With TV Makes Pix Shares Look More Promising—Wall St Crowing feeling In Wall St. that the picture industry’s amalgama- tion with television makes film shares look more promising than they have for some time is typified by a recent analysis of picture in- dustry stocks by Francis I. DuPont ^ Co. Brokerage firm points out that the long-standing TV-ftlms controversy is emerging as an alliance rather than the death of one and the rise of the other. Admitting that motion picture Issues have been d.eepiv d»»nre**ed and are among the most friendless in the stock market, DuPont cites that shares in this group on the average are now less than KKc above their 1949 low while the overall stock market has advanced ny>re than 8V% It lists all of the difficulties, such as foreign coin restrictions, drop in postwar theatre attendance and now the bugaboo of its new' rival, television, which have plagued film stocks. It cites how the price of shares has dipped below the level of all ex- cept the depression years of the 1930’s. After trying to explain some of the film biz ills. DuPont analysis explains how' producers have* cut down costs in producing pictures and trimmed sails else- where. . Summation stresses * that the picture theatre decline stemmed from weak product and high prices rather than television. In fact. DuPont points out that attendance actually was off aiao in areas where TV was not available. The t Continued on page 22) Col Uncertainty On ‘Falls’ for N.Y. Astor Delays Theatre Deal Uncertainty by Columbia as to whether it wants to book "Whistle at Eaton's Falls” into the Astor, N. Y.. Is delaying tceoff of its new agreement with City Investing Co., owner of the Broadway show- case. Col is going ahead, however, w ith original plans for taking over exclusive booking of the Astor’s sister house, the next-door Vic- toria. Set to start its arrangement with Cl by putting "Whistle” into the Astor, Col has now waived that time segment and house has booked Paramount's “Here Comes the Groom” (Bing Crosby) instead. Col will take over after "Groom” with "Whistle” or some other film. Scheduled ti initiate the new deal at the Vic is Sidney Buch- man’s "Saturday’s Hero,” which goes in in September, according to plan. Arrangement at both houses provides for Col to guaran- tee overhead of $7,500 per week. There is a stop-clause requiring withdrawal of a pic by Col two weeks after the eross falls below $14,000. Overhead guarantee is not as- sumed by Col w'hen its pix are not playing the houses. Company hopes, however, to keep them oc- cupied pretty much of the time. When it has no product agreeable to Maurice Maurer, operator of the theatres for Cl, Maurer is free to go out on the market to seek sub- stitutes. Mulvey Briefs SIMPP On Anglo-U. S. Film Accord Hollywood, Aug. 14. Details of the new Anglo-Ameri- can film agreement were submitted to the executive eommittee of the Society of Independent Motion Pic- ture Producers at a luncheon meet- ing today (Tues.), James A. Mulvey, prez of Sam- '•H Goldwyn Productions, outlined the various points of the recently negotiated deal. He repped SIMPP 11 the London talks. Pact will be presented to the SIMPP board •hortly for approval. ♦ • Par Pacts Ev Riskin Hollywood. Aug. 14. Everett Riskin, originally signed by Paramount to oroduee "Rage of the Vulture” on a one-picture deal, was handed a long-term producer contract by that studio. "Vulture.” recently completed, will be released under a new- title. "Thunder in the East.” It costars Alan Ladd and Deborah Kerr. See Higher Price On WB Shares Being Retired Steady strengthening of the stock market since Warner Bros, asked for tenders of its shares at $15 two months ago has consider- ably changed the picture during that period. Tenders are due to- morrow (Thurs.). Investment services have been advising clients recently against offering their stock at $15. They recommend holding for a long pull. Wall St. feels that WB may be unable to get the $15,000,000 worth of shares it is aiming to retire. In any case, the price will be higher than originally thought. When the tenders were requested at the be- ginning of July, stock was selling at under $13. Price jumped a half-point on news that tenders would be accept- ed at up to $15. It then climbed to about 13 7 k and hovered there for some weeks. As a result, most professionals were counting on proffering their stock to the com- pany at 14*4 to 14tfc. It was feared there’d be so many tenders at be- low the $15 price that anything above 14 1 fc would have no chance at all. Stock in the past few* days, how- ever, has hit a high of 14 ‘ 4 . That means that except possibly for pro- (Continued on page 54) See McCarthy In Early Paris Return For Talks on Pact • Paris, Aug. 14. John G. McCarthy, director of the Motion Picture Assn, of Amer- ica’s international division, passed through Paris today iTues.) en- route to Holland and Denmark. He had been in Spain for several days for confabs W’ith government officials on a new Spanish-Ameri- can film accord. Ted Healy, ex- Cairo MPAA rep. accompanied the foreign topper on the Madrid junket as did Eugene Van Dee. who is temporarily replacing the resigned Gerald Mayer as MPAA continental manager. McCarthy originally was ex- pected to make extended visits in Holland. Denmark and Germany. It’s now anticipated that the newly- formed French cabinet of Rene Pleven will possibly cause him to return here earlier. The MPAA has been anxious to resume div* cussions with the French on a new film agreement, but lack of a French cabinet has prevented any talks. Freed Maps 3 More Hollywood, Aug. 14. Arthur Freed, with "Belle of N. Y.” and "Singing in the Rain” now lensing, has completed plans for three more musicals. First is to be "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and stars Danny Kaye end Gene Kelly; second is "Romberg Story,” with Kurt Kasznar; third is untitled and is especially de- signed for Fred Astaire, Freed’s "Show Boat’ 1 is now in release, with his "American In Paris” due soon. PE1.HMET 1-MONTH HIKES e Indicative of an upturn in major*) company profits for the current year were the first reports, issued during the past week, for the spring quarter. Paramount. War- ner Bros, and RKO all showed an increase in earnings for the three- month period. If other companies’ results fol- low the Par, WB and RKO patterns, the proAts picture for the industry will show considerable improve- ment in 1951 over 1950. Since biz has improved materially during the summer quarter tfver that of last spring, there appears now to he every hope of a very good year-end showing. The Warner hypo in net was reg- istered despite a sizable drop in gross. Par issued no figures for its gross. There was an optimistic note, however, from Columbia, which has not disclosed its spring earnings yet. hut has filed a report on estimated gross with the Securi- ties & Exchange Commission. That indicated a very nice upturn over last year. The WB statement last week was for March, April and May. During that period its net earnings were $1,981,000 as against $1,419,000 for the same quarter of 1950. Par^statement covered April, Majrand June. Its profit was $1,- 421,000 compared with $1,385,000 for the similar quarter during the previous year. Bott; companies showed a tilt of 10c per share in earnings for the (Continued on page 15) No Change in Policy As Mirisch, Branton, Broidy Gain Monogram Control • Hollywood. Aug. 14. Purchase of 82.500 'shares of stock by Harold Mirisch and G. Ralph Branton has acquired con- trol of Monogram-Allied Artists. Combination of these shares with those held by Steve Broidy,’ presi- dent of the company, makes this trio the largest single block of stockholders in the corporation. Mirisch, veepee of the company, and Branton. former part-owner of the Tri-State Theatres circuit in Iowa. Nebraska and Illinois, paid "approximately $400,000” for the 82.500 shares. The sellers. George D. Burrows, treasurer; Scott R. Dunlap, producer, and Sam Wolf, secretary, will retain their present posts in the company. Although Branton has his own television outfit and has signed George Brent and Joan Bennett for a video series, there will be no change in the production policies of-Monogram-AUied Artists. Loew’s Buys 3 More Of Loew’s Boston Washington, Aug. 14. Loew’s, Inc., always in the mar- ket for Loew’s Boston Theatres $25 par common, purchased an extra three shares last month. The parent company now own* 128.199 shares of the exhibition chain. Trusts controlled by Jack Cohn purchased 200 shares of Columbia Pictures no par common and now have 23.737 shares. Cohn also owns 43,624 shares in his own name. Abraham Schneider made a gift of 700 shares of his Columbia com- mon. but still owns 7.766 shares. Belatedly Harry Brandt notified SEC that in May he bought an ex- tra 100 shares of Translux $1 com- mon, to up his bundle to 101,115 shares. In addition, the Brandt Foundation owns 2,000; Harday, Inc., has 1,400; and Mrs. Brandt holds title to 17,700 shares. i Bernard Smith Due For Par Prod. Post Hollywood. Aug. 14. Bernard Smith, story editor at Paramount, Is about to he upped to a producer post. The deal will he closed when he returns from his current vacation. COMPO Still Scraping for Expenses Though Exhib Contribs Soar to 60 G M-G Ups Weingarten Hollywood, Aug. 14. Lawrence Weingarten was upped to the post of executive producer on the Metro lot to carry some of the burdens currently borne by Dore Schary, boss of the studio. Weingarten will oversee about eight pictures a year, in addition to producing several personally. Also drawing added responsibil- ities was J. J Cohn, who wiii have general supervision of all backlot activity in addition to other duties. See Philly Crisis On Allied Schism Over ‘Movietime’ Philadelphia, Aug. 14. Determination by a small group of local Allied members, led by prez Sidney E. Samuelson. not to participate in the Council of Mo- tion Picture Organization’s nation- al "Movietime U.S.A.” drive may bring to a head an undercurrent of dissatisfaction and split the local exhib unit. Opposition to the' Samuelson re- gime is said to have been growing ever since the national Allied body suspended the local group. Allied Independent Theatre Owners of Eastern Pennsylvania, for non-pay- ment of dues. Samuelson report- edly invited the suspension because of policy differences with national Allied, one of which was the latter’s support of COMPO. Since the suspension, about six months ago. It is understood that a growing number of local mem- bers have not been paying dues. Their feeling reportedly is that they are not getting full benefit of membership through failure of the Samuelson group to work with the national body. It is also understood that there has been some communication by Philly exhibs with Abram F. (Continued on page 22 > 8 % Suits Vs. Miner's 14-House Circuit in Final Wis. Settlement Superior, Wis., Aug. 14. Eight percentage actions brought by various distributors in Federal Court here against the George Miner circuit of 14 houses have been concluded. Windup of the long-pending suits came last week when an order of dismissal was filed after attorneys stipulated that all claims involved had been fully compromised and settled. Case was among the oldest liti- gated matters of this type still ac- tive. Seven of the actions were originally filed in September. 1946. against the late George Miner and various of his theatre firms. Other suit was brought by Columbia in 1948. An original order of inspection granted by Federal Judge Stone in 1947 permitted an audit for the six-year period covered by the suits. Court also granted Colum- bia the right to audit all the vari- ous theatres served by it for the six years prior to filing its 1948 suit '4 Exhibitor contributions to th# Council of Motion Picture Organi- zations have almost matched the amount turned in by the distribu- tors. However. COMPO’s treas- urer is still scraping the bottom of the barrel for operating expenses. A few weeks ago a considerable sum from exhibitors was checked in after another plea by letter from Arthur L. Mayer, executive v.p. That brought the exhibitor total to $60,000. Distributors, through the Motion Picture Assn, of America, have increased the COMPO coffers by $70,000. Robert J. O’Donnell resigned last week the job of handling the coin. Named temporary treasurer was Herman Robbins, head of National Screen Service. O’Donnell said he hoped the Robbins appointment would become permanent when COMPO’s hoard gets around to voting on it. Texas showman, who declared he wrote his last treasurer's report "on an aspirin tablet." quit because of the pressure on him as chair- man of COMPO’s "Movietime U.S.A.” boxoffice drive. He said he saw this expanding to a possible permanent operation after the in- dustry notes results of the October- November campaign. Although COMPO was organized two years ago, it has been in actual operation, with a paid staff, only one year. It was originally, opti- (Continued on page 18) Lacking Yank Problems, Canadian Pic Industry Won’t Join ‘Movietime’ Toronto. Aug. 14. With Canadian theatre business up 8 % for 1950, according to the Dominion Bureau of Statistics, and commensurately still at the same figure for the first eight months of this year, the Motion Picture In- dustry Council won't participate in the "Movietime U.S.A.” campaign. Principally, this is because Can- ada is not facing the industry problems currently existent in the U. S. Canada, for instance, has no television competition, and will not have for possibly a year, when the first two state-owned teevee sta- tions, in Toronto and Montreal, are established as the nucleus of the projected Federal teevee Trans- Canada network, with another sta- tion in Ottawa to immediately fol- low. That 8 % boost in business is partly attributable to the Canadian government’s heavy postwar immi- gration policy, which in the past year or two has seen some 2.000.000 new citizens from Europe arriving in Canada with the current high immigration totals to this country still maintained. However, the MPIC, Canadian equivalent to COMPO, has an organization set- up for combatting a drop when and if the boxoffice lag in the U. S. faces the film industry in Canada. UPT Names Krolick Buffalo. Aug. 14. Arthur Krolick has been named acting district manager of United Paramount Theatres' five houses here. He succeeds James H. Esh- elman, who left the circuit's em- ploy last week. Krolick is manager of UPT’s houses in Rochester. He’ll tem- porarily supervise theatres in both cities until a permanent successor to Eshelman is named. O’Donnell Interrupts Meets for N. Y. Talks Robert J. O’Donnell, national di- rector of "Movietime U. S. A.” will interrupt his tour of exhibitor meetings in the midw f est to return to N. Y. tomorrow (Thurs.) and discuss financing and other phases of the boxoffice drive with heads of distribution companies. O’Donnell began his regional tour Monday (13) in Omaha, meet- ing with delegations from Allied States and Theatre Owners of America. Yesterday (Tues.) he conferred with exhibitors and dis- tributors in Washington; today he is attending a similar meeting in Detroit. The remainder of his itinery fol- lows: Aug. 20. New Haven; Aug. 21. Boston; Aug. 22, Indianapolis; Aug. 23, Chicago; Aug. 24, Denver; Aug. 25-26. Dallas; Aug. 27. Memphis; Aug. 28, Atlanta; Aug. 29, Jackson- ville; Aug. 30, New Orleans. Other trips until Sept. 10 nave not been set.