Variety (May 1952)

M»y 21, 1952 Twentieth-Fox ‘demonstrated its Eidophor theatre color television system at ike annual stockholders' meeting in the NV Y. homeoffice yesterday (Tiles.) with images relayed via cable" from the Fox Movietone studios two blocks away and thrown on the regular screen in the h.o. projection room. Frexy Spyroir P« Skouras was jubilant on the occasion but asked reporters on the scene to Refrain from press appraisals since the showing was in "the nature of an experiment.* < performers now appearing at the Roxy, garbed in multi-colored costumes,.' moved about in song-and-dance- routines for the TV camera. Special Eidophor projector, slightly larger than the standard machine, was placed in the booth alongside, other appara- tus neatly flitted into a box-like casing, measuring ‘about six feet high and some inches short of the length of the projector, Colum- bia broadcasting System's color system with- the revolving disk was used although the system could be adapted to the employment of *11 elctronic, or -non-mechanical, tilting. Spyros P. Skouras, president of+* 20th-F»ox, told .the corporation's annual meeting of stockholders in N. Y. yesterday (Tqes.) that the future holds promise of healthy economics, but for .the present, ad- ditional lopping of expenses is im- perative. This, he. said, will be in the form of personnel, eliminations *nd salary cutting, “particularly! let me emphasise," the prez lidded, “executive salaries will have to be reduced, and plans' are under way which will be jn effect'during the current year." . Twentieth . reported yesterday that the net. for fhe first quarter of the current year skidded to $34,- 000, equal to* le per share on the common stock-- Earnings for the same period in .1951 amounted to $874,776. equal to 27c per share after payments were made on the preferred stock Issue, which since has been retired. Skouras told the meeting that encouraging advances have been made since the first quarter, which ended March 29/ He related that foreign rentals for all of the; cur- rent year so far are running' 4% above the 1951 level, that domes- tic rentals for the first .seven weeks of the second' quarter reached $7,979,864, against $7,339,- 792 during the same period .last year. Domestic theatre attendance is off about 6% from last year. Skouras' Assurance In contrast to -the poor results in the first quarter, Skouras as- sured the investors of a handsome Twentieth-Fox may postpone di vorcement of domestic theatres for another 90 days or- six months be- yond the present deadline of June 28, stockholders were told by prez Spyros P. Skouras at the com- pany's annual meeting in N. Y. yes terday (Tues.). He said he had been so advised by general coun- sel Otto *Koegel and refrained UDbeat in th* sponnd stanza to- the offering any details. upDeat in the second stanza, to tne ^ ch a delay wou ld. require De . (Continued on page 15) Charles P. Skouras is set as president of National Theatres at * stipulated salary plus a profits participation which could give him up to $500,000 per year. Circuit, 'Currency freeze instituted ;.Y>y maily natioris, ,$t*rttog., is now being viewed by film execs as the cloud with the silver lining. Belated income now arriving in the IT. as * result of the thawing of some of the deep-freeze money is providing a much-needed hyfro to current profits; Prime example is RKC), as evi- denced by its. annual report for 1951, issued last week. It was able to show black ink to the tune of more than $334,000 due to the fact that $3,000,000 of previously blocked currency poured into the treasury during the 12-month pe- riod. While examples aren't so dra- matic at other ^companies,- all of them have found A welcome surge to foreign income in belated thaw- ing of coin that was- in deep freeze. This money shows utf pleasantly in reports now because all of the, ma- jors in the past three or four years have revised bookkeeping systems realistically to record only foreign earnings that actually arrive in the U. S. Aside from the visible effect on the proflt-arid-loss statements, the' dark days, foreigh : \vise, of 1947-48' now clearly appear*to have been a boon for,* less tangible reason. That is that they pulled the studios up short on expenditures prior to the time the down-draft Jn domes- tic grosses.was fully felt and put’ the companies in a better position to meet the fiscal problems that arose later at home.. Currency restrictions started on a large scale in the summer: of 1947 with the imposition by Brit- ain of the 75% ad valorem tax. it was that, more than anything else, that suddenly made the; majors cognizant of how dependent they were on-foreign markets and, con- versely, how oUt-of-bounds they had let cosits get as related to po- tential domestic income. Studio, toppers were forced into a more realistic attitude that start- continued on page 13) JACKBRODER SUES FOR ‘QjJEEN’ ACCTG. Hollywood, May 20. Jack Broder and Sharmark Pro- ductions 'Inc., have filed a breach of contract suit against * Horizdn partment of Justice approval and, Pictures in U. S. District Court de- if that were not given, a court row manding an accounting on “Afri- with the Department could be ex- can Queen." Action,- brought by at- pected. torney Herbert G. Baerwitz also New film company will take over' lists Horizon Enterprises and all assets excepting domestic thea- Horizon'Productions, as defendants tres. Outfit already has absorbed Plaintiffs claim 3% of domestic gross and 10% of net profits are due under deal whereby Broder and Sharmark, his' film investing company, advanced pre-production coin for “QueOnX Suit says there 20th’§ Economy Order Hollywood, May 20. 20th-Fox department heads have been asked to survey their operations and report on what economies, financial and per- sonnel, can b* effected. Col.. Jason Joy, director of public relations and personnel, Is leaving- the company, it was reported. He has been associ- ated with Fox Films and later 20th-Fox since 1932. Two weeks ago, C^eorge Wasson re- signed as head of the studio, legal department. . . Up to 6-Mo. Delay On Divorcement C. P. Skouras as NT Prez Could Snare 500G Yrly. tres 0utftt sircady has absorbcd fin ^nlarvJPhi'c V hail Hoyts Theatres, Australia, Skouras vn daiary-riUS ./q VIM sald . 0n foreign production front, the prez related that costs are so high that -leasing activity outside the U. S. will be cut. . In other corporate reshuffling of h as been no accounting to date, assets preliminary to divorcement, UPT Meet; 1st Qtr. Net at $1805,000 Par’s Invitation Plan For Exhib Screenings Paramount hfcs a plan in work to tiold special invitation screenings of four or five of its new pix in theatres in key.cities. Exhibs will receive personal invitations from branch manage.for the shpwings, which will be excluded from the public. Company tried out the idea ■syith “Here Comes' title Groom,” Bing Crosby starter, some time ago. It met with considerable success in bringing out theatremen who over the years have hot been attending the standard film’showings in local I awareness exchanges. 4- Quick playoffs, the current sys- tem of bidding for pix and road- shows at upped admission scale* were rapped by Leonard H. Gol- denson, prexy .of' United Para- mount Theatres,* at the annual meeting of the ’ company’s stock- holders yesterday (Tues.) in New . York. Comments oh the playoff method were made In his prepared statement to stockholders while his remarks on bidding, and road- shows .were made in answers to floor queries. “I believe," Goldenson declared, . “the industry is nOw becoming aware of the harmfulness of the rapid release system to everyone in the business. As soon as the b e :c om.es Universal among us, I expect to see substi- tute practices develop which will be beneficial to the entire indus- try, and which, at the same time, will be harmonious with the-Fed- eral antitrust laws. This will mean' improved revenues to both produc- ers and exhibitors.” TJPT prexy said he hoped that som.e changes would be brought ’about in the bidding system, which he said led to a degree of con- fusion and was also: a factor in the downbeat b,o. . Goldenson noted In the event all . interested thftt UPT ^Cndafiee and b.o. take parties agree to the final draft of £ flr5°nnari:!r «f olans for industry arbitration, and ! quarter of this year over cording to trade lawyers.. S : *pt<a fittifinhi* th^v ha Vo fltfurcd film costs were up. This factor Tfie timetable they nave nguieu he ^ «. CQUpled with * higher tax rate, caused our earnings to be substantially below those of the begins with the next meeting qf reps' of the various trade organiza- tions involved,. Including the Mo- tion Picture Assn, of America and the exhib outfits. That's now set for June 16 in N. having been postponed from May 26. Tlie reps thereupon must obtain the okays, T 4 f Ifc*-N«* Allied Blames approval of the Department of Justice. This .'means plenty of time for study since, the D. of J. endorsement. will go on the court records’. The string of unani- « Elma la Mav 20 nious affirmative votes assumedly _ achieved to this point, the plan, in the!form of an amendment to the theaUc owners t0 furbish their first quarter of- last year." Exclusive of capital gains, con- solidated earnings of UPT for th* (Continued on pag^ 15) ‘Coding’ for Small Exhibjs Inability to Primp industry antitrust consent decree, goes to the N. Y. Federal Court. Tribunal recesses .through the summer and usually finds * a crowd- ed calendar upon occupying the bench* each fall. This could mean delays. : .Tlten comes the .mammoth job of appointing arbiters in each key area 1 and all other, personnel, es tablishing offices and generally houses- as much as they would like to can-be laid squarely upon dis- tributors’ practices of percentage selling. “A- lot of small theatres could do a lot more fixing up," says Allied of Iowa, Nebraska & Mid- Central secretary Charlie Jones, if they could buy film for 20% instead of getting the gouge. And we don’t mean percentage buying. We mean film rentals over the iSSETKJn order »«**** And acquainting all exhibs across the country with its functions. Meanwhile, one of the most in- tensified efforts within the frame- work of the entire project was completed in N. Y. Monday (19) by the rules committee headed by (Continued oh page 13) now a subsid of 20th-Fox, becomes Skouras reported, National Thea- an independent operation upon di- tres has already paid its dividend vorcement this year. of $12,500,000 to the parent cum- in answer to a stockholder’s pany, and the Roxy Theatre, N. Y., question, Otto Koegel, 20th’s gen- a separate subsid heretofore, al- eral counsel, told the outfit's an- ready has been shifted to National, nual meeting in N. Y. yesterday (Tues.) that the National prexy will receive about half the salary given Spyros P. Skouras as prez of 20th. Latter drew $246,000 in salary in 1951. He added that Charles Skouras could conceivably draw a half million dollatf^ under the par- ticipation arrangement but the' for- mula demands that National would In underlining the strong finan- (Continued on page 16) Martin-lewis Reach 7-Year Wallis Pact $41,498,000 RKO Investment Key To Studio s Curtailed Production Activity Hollywood, May 20. /;—*?— - vr" Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis uave to net over $7,500,000 for him a new sevefi-vear contract - ...... do it. Stockholders Should be wfth Hal Wallis calling for one film tin « the , inventory and building ■smsgjut - — SrrsssM ssxfTJS'Sts&& „ . , . Ce c?mic? can do a specified but total was $12,831,000). Loin for Three Fix undisclosed number Of outside pix. The investment of $41,498,000 at Aubrey Schenck Rounds Up Hollywood Mav 20* Meanwhile, they start rehearsing the start of 1952 compares with Aubrey S wS % «S Stiff” tmfer the orlgin.1 p,767,000 » year earlier. The new. financial backing for three produc- contract. Scheduled .to start weeks inventories consist of $10,700,000 in bons and established quarters at ago, they didn't show up after re- reieased productions at (jbst, less Motion Picture Centre for his new jecting script. It now goes before amortization; $0,124,000, completed Indie company* the cameras next week with and unreleased product; $9,852,000, Pictures, to .be made within a George Marshall directing from productions In progress and charges year, are “The -Warrior," a tinter; Herbert Baker’s script. Music is to future pix; $1,130,000 supplies ive Got Mine" and “Shield for by Mack David and Jerry Living- at cost and unamortized a d*Pfib Murder." stone. 1 charges; $1,188,000, story rights and continuities at amounts written off. cost less Strong reason for the curtailed production activity at RKO was re- flected in the outfit’s annual report disclosing a fllm investment of $41,-[$334,626 for* 1951, the first time 498,000. That whopping figure is comprised of $29,054,000 in RKO’s own inventories and $12,444,000 In advances to outside producers. Cut and not over 20% of the gross. Writing in the organization’s cur- rent bulletin, Jones points out that every time we go to a convention we hear some guy who probably never owned a theatre in his life-— at least a smalltown, narrow mar- gin operation—get up and tell us about fixing up our houses, put in .new decorations, put in those new lamps, machines, lenses, chairs or carpet. Out here we’re made up mostly of No. 1 and 1A towns—that means town grossing $500 per week or less. Sure we’ve got to keep clean, courteous, neat, painted-up and create the atmosphere. “We’ve got to have concessions, (Continued on page 18) RKO came up with * profit of | Settle St. Louis 520G Suit the outfit has been out of the red Vs. Major Distributors since 1947. Considering produc- St. Louis, May 20. lion-distribution on a pro forma a “substantial" sum is reported basis, that- is, apart from the the- to have been paid Wayne Smith, atre chain which was divorced Jan. owner of the Egyptian, ozoner near 1, 1951, the company’h*d a loss of Herrin, • 111., by eight of the major $5,800,000 in 1950, loss of $3,425,- distributors when a $520,000 anti- 000 in ’49, loss of $1,824,000 in ’48, trust suit was dismissed last week and a profit of $5,015,000 in '47. in u. S. District Court in East St. However, while the upbeat for Louis, 111., across the Mississippi ’51 appeared very bright on the sur- f r0 m here. face, a couple of big influencing Defendants involved in the out- factors were behind It. First, RKO of-court settlement are 20th-Fox, took in a windfall of $3,000,000 from abroad, representing foreign earnings, which had been frozen and thawed out during the year, Warner Bros., Universal.^ Para- mount, Republic, RKO Pictures, Loew’s, Inc., and United Artists. Originally, others named as de- mainly from England, plus the pay- fendants were Monogram, Mar- ofl on investments in pix abrbad. low’s Amus. Co. f Mux’physboro Also, a change in amortization of Opera Co., Grand Opera Co., and (Continued on page 16) John MarioHerrin, Hi l 4 , 4 \