Variety (May 1952)

«r„ln<*d»T. May 21, 1»52 Twentieth-Fox 'demonstrated its Eidophor theatre color television *vstem it* annual stockholders’ meeting in the N, Y. homeoffice yesterday (Tdes.) with images relayed via cable' from the Fox Movietone studios two blocks away and thrown on tile regular screen in the fi.o; projection room, Prexy Spyros 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 how appearing at the Roxy, garbed in multi-colored .costumes, moved about in jiong-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. Fay, Personnel Cuts Due at 20th-Fox Spyros P. Skouras, president of 4 20th-F,ox, told . the corporation’s • annual meeting of stockholders in N, Y. yesterday (•Tues.) that the future holds promise of healthy economics; but for the present, ad- ditional lopping of expenses is im- perative. This, ho said, will be in the form of personnel, eliminations and salary cutting. “Particularly let me! emphasize/' the prez Added, "executive Salaries will have to be reduced, and plans' are under way which will be jii effect during the current year.” : * Twentieth , reported yesterday that the net. for the first quarter of the current, year skidded to $34,- OOO, equal to* lc per share on the common stock.- Earnings for the lame 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 ate 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 upbeat in the second stanza, to the (Continued on page 15) C. P. Skouras as NT Prez Could Snare 50QG Yrly. On Salary-Phis % Deal 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, uow a subsid of 20th-Fox, becomes *n independent operation upon di- vorcement this year. In answer to a stockholder’s question, Otto Koegel, 20th’s gen- eral counsel, told the outfit’s an- 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. Utter drew $246,000 in salary in 1951. He added that Charles oKouras could conceivably draw a Ulf million dollatf^ under the par- ticipation arrangement but the’ for- mula demands that National would nave to net over $7,500,000 for him « do It* Stockholders Should be very happy" if thi* is accom- plished, said Koegel. . 20tV% Economy Order Hollywood, May 20, 20th-Fox department heads have been asked to survey their operations an<J report on what economies, financial and per- sonnel, can be 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 1032, Two weeks ago,. GJeorge Wasson re- signed as head of the studio legal department. Schenck Rounds Coin for Three Pix Aubrey Up Hollywood, May 20. Aubrey Schenck rounded up t ,^ ncia l backing for three produc- ons and established .quarters at fnS* n Picture Centre for his new indie company. . Vftfi Ctures ’ to t*. made within a year, are “The Warrior,” a tinter; uZ£r " nd ‘‘ shield for Currency freeze instituted ; jby many hatioris, starting Jnii,947y fs now being viewed by film execs as the cloud with the silver lining. Belated income now arriving, in the XT. S, as a result of the'thawing of some of the deep-freeze money is providing a much-needed Itfpo to current profits, *f Prime example is RKO, 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 profit-arid-loss statements, the 1 dark days, foreigh r wise/ 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 fo the time the down-draft in domes- tic grosses ^ was fully felt and put the companies in a better position to meet the fiscal problems that arose later at.hOrae., 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 o.ut-of-bounds they had let costs get as related to po tehtial domestic income. Studio, toppers were forced into a more realistic attitude "that start- continued on page 13) JACK BRODER SUES FOR QUEEN’ ACCTG. Hollywood, May 20. Jack Broder and Sharmark Pro- ductions Inc., have filed a breach of contract suit against * Horizon Pictures in U. S. District Court de- manding an accounting on ’ “Afri can Queen.” Action.- brought by at- torney -Herbert G. Baerwitz also _ lists Horizon Enterprises and all assets excepting domestic thea- Horizon Productions as defendants» tres. Outfit already has absorbed Plaintiffs claim 3% of domestic Hoyts Theatres, Australia, Skouras gross and 10% of net profits are said. On the foreign production d ue under deal whereby Broder front,, the prez related, that costs an d Sharmark, his' film investing are so high that Tensing activity company, advanced pre-production outside the U. S. will be cut. coin f 0 r “Queen.*'* Suit says there In other corporate reshuffling of has been no accounting to date, assets preliminary to divorcement, Skouras reported, National Thea- tres has already paid its dividend of $12,500,000 to the parent com- pany, and the Roxy Theatre, N. Y., a separate subsid heretofore, al- ready has been shifted to National, In underlining the strong finan- (Continued on page 16) Par’s Invitation Plan For Exhib Screenings Paramount has a plan in work to hold special invitation screenings of four or five of its new- pix in theatres in key.cities, Exhibs will receive personal invitations from branch managers.for the sKowings, which will be excluded from the public. Company tried out the idea with “Here Comes the Groom,” Bing Crosby starref, 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 exchanges. 1 • Dp to 6-Mo. Delay Seen by Skouras On Divorcement 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 -from offering any details. Such a delay would, require De partment of Justice approval and, if that were not given, a court row with the Department could be ex- pected. New film company will take over In , the event all ; interested parties' agree to the final draft of plans for industry arbitration, and that’s 1 a big order,* it will be‘six months to a year before the sys- tem can be made operative, ac- cording to trade lawyers. The timetable they have figured begins with the- next meeting of 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. }T.,. having been postponed from May_ 26. The reps thereupon must obtain the okays from their respective associations. Next step will be winning the approval of the Department' of Justice. This ^means plenty of time for study since, the D. of J. endorsement, will go on the court recor.ds. The string of unani- mous affirmative votes assumedly achieved to this point, the plan, in the'form of an amendment to the 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. * Then comes the .mammoth job of appointing arbiters in each key area and all other personnel, es- tablishing offices and generally putting the machinery in 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 on page 13) $41,498,000 RKO Investment Key To Studio’s Curtailed Production Activity Martin-Lewis Reach n V UT.JU* disclosing a film investment of $41,- Mear wains raci 498,000, That whopping figure is Strong reason for the curtailed production .activity at RKO was re-1 fleeted in the outfit’s annual report Dean signed TTnllvwood Mav 20 comprised of $29,054,000 In RKO's Jta* Lewi* ow ^ inv * ntories * nd $12,444,000 in »SSn viar contoS advances to outside producers. Cut- new seven-year contract v^n/Urid ”-*" '7 fin O' -M-VS* inv with Hal Wallis calling lor one film annually on a straight salary basis Po 5l “ on „ effective Jan. 1. Old pact. Inked Dec. 31 HKO had only $3,139,- inventory and building are the. aims (as of to”1948, was to have expired De- “c/mie* ’can do . specified but t°W was $12,831 000) undisclosed number ol outside pix. The investment of $41,498,000 at Meanwhile they start rehearsing the start of 1952 compares with “ScarTltiff” the original $33,767,000 a year earl er The new, contract. Scheduled to start weeks’ inventories consist of $10,760,000 in ago they didn't show up after re- released productions at cost, less jecting script. It now goes before amortization; $6,124,000, completed the cameras next week with and unreleased product; $9,852,000, George Marshall directing from productions in progress and charges Herbert Baker’s script. Music is to future pix; $1,130,000 supplies by Mack David and Jerry Diving- at cost and unamortized ad-piib s t one# 1 charges; $1,188,000, story rights and continuities at cost less amounts written off. RKO came up with a profit of $334,626 for 1951, the first time the outfit has been out of the red since 1947. Considering produc- tion-distribution on a pro forma basis, that is, apart from the the- atre chain which was divorced Jan. 1, 1951, the company ‘had a loss of $5,800,000 in 1950, loss of $3,425,- 000 in ’49, loss of $1,824,000 in ’48, and a profit of $5,015,000 in ’47. * However, while the upbeat for ’51 appeared very bright on the sur- face, a couple of big influencing factors were behind it. First, RKO took in a windfall of $3,000,000 from abroad, representing foreign earnings, which had been frozen and thawed out during the year, mainly from England, plus the pay- off on investments in pix abroad. Also, a change in amortization of (Continued on page 16) Quick playoffs, the current sys- tem of bidding for pix and road- shows at upped admission scales were rapped by. Leonard H. G61- detison, 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 awareness b e\c o m, e s 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 harnionious. with the.Fed- eral antitrust laws. This will mean improved revenues to both produc- ers and exhibitors,” UPT prexy said he hoped that some 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, that UPT attendance and b.o, take ran a couple of percent ahead in the first quarter of this year oyer last 'year. However, he. pointed out that, as A result of the booking of a number of advanced price pix during tihq first quarter, UPT’s film costs were up. “This factor;” he said, “coupled .with a higher tax rate, caused our earnings to he substantially below those of the first quarter of- last year/’ Exclusive of capital gains, con- solidated earnings of UPT for th* (Continued bn pagb 15) la.-Neb. Allied Blames l ’Gouging’ for Small Exhib’s Inability to Primp Elma, la., May 20. Frequent inability of smalltown theatre owners to refurbish their 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 Be 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 year3 period bought on fiat rental 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 lA towns—that means town grossing $500 per week or less. Sure we’ve got to keep clean, courteous, neat, painted-lip and create the atmosphere. “We’ve got to have concessions, (Continued on page 18) Settle St. Louis 520G Suit Vs. Major Distributors St, Louis, May 20. A “substantial” sum is reported' to have been paid Wayne Smith, owner of the Egyptian, ozoncr near Herrin, • 111., by eight of the major distributors when a $520,000 anti- trust suit was dismissed last Week in U. S. District Court in East St. Louis, 111., across the. Mississippi from here. Defendants involved in the out- of-court settlement are 20th-Fox, Warner Bros., Universal, Para- mount, Republic, RKO Pictures, Loew’s, Inc., and United Artists. Originally, others named as de- fendant were Monogram, Mar- low's Amus. Co., Murphysboro Opera Co., Grand Opera Co., and John Marlow, Herrin, 111. • 4 ^ f •' 4 ^ • 4 t