Variety (December 1952)

Yf„,w«.1av. December 24, 1952 Pfi&ltSTY PICTURES MAJORS WARY OF FOREIGN RKE UA Has Ownership Interest In 15 of 30 Upcoming Pictures United Artists, which lias been j ^lining toward participation m a f crowing 8 number of the indie films which it distributes, has an owner- S n interest in 15 of the next 30 ^ich the outfit has upcom- ing, it was disclosed in New York th UA"idea is that straight distribu- tion deals, from which the company draws about 30% of the rental revenue, alone are not particularly profitable. Consequently, the com- pany has been increasingly active in taking the participations. UA's share ranges from 10% to 50% in the 15 films. Each deal has its own peculiar characteris- tics Company, which figures to wind up 1952 with its most sub- stantial profit in years, arranges fi- nancing' for the indie film-makers through banks and other sources, and at times invests its own coin. In the latter category is “Melba, which Sam Spigel lensed in Eng- land. UA has 50% of this. UA's bolstered stature on the fi- nancial front was seen recently in a new arrangement with N. Y.’s Chemical Bank & Trust Co. Un- der this, UA will “screen” pro- ducers’ proposed deals, just as the bank itself had done in the past, and will present the deals to the bank along with its recom- mendations. Supreme Ct. Tosses Out Utah Film Carrier Suit To Prevent State Regulation Washington, Dec. 23. The U. S. Supreme Court yester- day (Mon.), threw out the, suit of Wycoff Co., film carriers between the Salt Lake City exchanges and theatres throughout Utah, to pre- vent regulation by the Utah Public Service Commission. Decision was by an 8-1 vote. Wycoff sought to escape regula- tion on the ground that the film was in interstate commerce, coming from headquarters in other states and with the payment being remit- ted outside of Utah. However, the High Court sidestepped the im- portant question and merely re- fused to enjoin the Utah Commis- sion, arguing that the issue was not sufficiently concrete and had not been properly tested in the state courts first. Majority opinion was rendered by Justice Robert Jackson, who as- serted: “For more reasons than one, it is clear that this proceeding can- not result in an injunction on Con- stitutional grounds. . . . The com- plainant in this case does not re- (Continued on page 16) Jack Warner in N.Y. Jack L. Warner, Warner Bros, exec veepee and production chief, arrived in New York from the Coast over the weekend. Studio chieftain is expected to remain in Gotham for several weeks both on company and per- sonal business. In the latter cate- gory is the coming-out party for his daughter, Barbara, slated for the Hotel St. Regis Saturday (27). Technical Legal Flaw Slated For WB-Fabian 0.0. Transference of the Warner Bros. Theatres stock to Fabian En- terprises may necessitate the sale of certain theatres by* one of the chains. Particularly affected -will be houses in*such cities as Albany, Troy and Johnston, N. Y., and Reading, Pa., where both circuits operate theatres. Takeover by Fa- bian of the Warner theatres In those cities will leave the munici- palities without equal competing theatres, an arrangement that the Dept, of Justice may not approve. This and other questions involv- ing real estate have been part of discussions leading to the final takeover of the WB circuit by Fa- bian. Another aspect is the deter- mination of the physical headquar- (Continued on page 16) SEE THREAT HI Harry M. ff aruer’s $182,100 Tops In $1,199,970 WB Exec Salaries Proportional increase in foreign market earnings in the face of static or declining domestic income is causing some apprehension among the distribs* top echelons. Feeling is that continuation of the present trend may end in a top- heavy situation, with the compa- nies too dependent on the erratic volume of remittablp coin from abroad. Most companies estimate that the foreign market today accounts for about 40% of their total income. Eric Johnston, Motion Picture Assn, of America prexy, recently put the figure at 42% and some distribs have gone as high as 45%. Fear that income from abroad may become too important in U. S. industry thinking and planning was expressed Friday (19) by Alfred E. Daff, exec v.p. of Universal, who foresees trouble should the domes- tic gross drop another 15% to bring foreign and domestic income on ap- proximately a 50-50 basis. “It’s something that has con- cerned us for some time now,” Daff said. “We must never forget that we make pictures with U. S. dol- lars. If we can’t get Jhese dollars, the quality will come down.” Daff said Universal planning had taken the general trend into account by making pix with definite overseas appeal. At the same time, he said U had no plans to film abroad. “We have a factory out in Holly- wood,” Daff declared. “We have (Continued on page 47) Martin Gang to Appeal Dismissal of Hughes Suit Los Angeles, Dec. 23. JVIartin Gang will appeal the rul- ing of Federal Judge William M. Byrne, who dismissed his $600,000 libel suit against Howard Hughes “without prejudice.” Under the court’s rujing, Gang has the option of appealing or amending his com- plaint to cite specific damages. Action charges Hughes with dam- aging Gang’s professional integrity by stating that the attorney had in- sisted on payment of a legal fee of $30,000 as a condition of the out- of-court settlement of the Hughes- Jean Simmons case. IMPROVED CHROMATIC TUBE SHOWN IN N.Y. Improved version of Chromatic Laboratories’ “Chromatron” color TV tube /\v as demonstrated at the Paramount Building in N. Y. yes- terday (Tues.) with a showing that was limited to Kodrachrome slides only. Chromatron tube used was of the 22-inch variety and has the dis- tinct advantage of fitting in either with the CBS field sequential or any other system which may be adopted. CBS system was used for the demonstration. Richard Hodgson, prexy of Chromatic, in which Paramount has a 50% interest, said the Chromatron would cost twice as much as a black-and-white tube and has great production advan- tages. It can pick up either b & w or color telecasts. MPIC Elevates Ralph Hollywood, Dec. 23. Motion Picture Industry Council nominated Ed Ralph, current secre- tary of the Unit Production Man- agers Guild, as v.p., meaning that he will eventually become MPIC prexy. Steve Broidy, now serving as president, will be succeeded auto- matically by veepee Arthur Freed in February. Ralph will succeed to the presidency when Freed retires. Bankers Trust Explains 3-Way Finance Policy New three-way policy on finan- cing film production has been evolved by Bankers Trust Co., New York, which provides for a ceiling on loans at 50% of the negative costs, a limit of $500,000 for any film and a rule against the financing of only a single film. Policy was explained this week in The Pyramid, house organ pub- lished by BTC. . On the last count, it’s stated that a producer seeking production money must propose a minimum of two pix, and preferably three. The films are cross-collateralized so that if one of the films proves unsuccessful the profits from the one or two others in the package might compensate for the loss on the first. Article on the film Investment (Continued on page 18) Washington, Dec. 23. Directors and officers of Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., received total compensation of $1,199,970 for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 1952, the company informed the Securities & Exchange Commission last week. Officers and board members also held as of Dec. 1, 1952, 1,018,198 common shares, or 18.12% of the 5,619,785 outstanding. Top salary, it was disclosed, went to prexy Harry M. Warner, who was handed $182,100. Jack L. War- ner, exec-veepee in charge of pro- duction, rated $182,050. Harry M. Kalmine, veepee and prez^of War- ner Bros. Theatres, drew $130,- |sP00. Major Albert Warner, veepee and treasurer, followed with $104,400. Other disbursements were: Sam- uel Carlisle, veepee-assistant treas- urer, $50,720; veepee Stanleigh P;. Friedman, $65,800; veepee^Sarm- uel Schneider, $104,700, and Rob- ert W. Perkins, $104,800. Latter is veepee, secretary and general coun- sel. Report points out that there (Continued on page 16) Kramer Pays $500 to Nip Juggler’ Title Hassle Hollywood, Dec. 23. Stanley Kramer bought title rights to a TV property to avoid legal complications. For $500 he ac- quired rights to “The Juggler.” owned by Meridian Pictures. Lat- ter retitled its own yarn “The Play- wright.” Kramer’s motion picture is based on Michael Blankfort’s book, a tale of Israel. The vidpic is based on Arthur Stringer’s story, “The Jug- gler,” registered in J936. Denies Inj. Vs. ‘Moulin,’ Allowing It to Preem Hollywood, Dec. 23. Federal Judge William M. Byrne paved the way for “Moulin Rouge” to qualify for Academy Award con- sideration by denying a request for an injunction halting local screen- ing pending trial of suit brought by the Parisian nitery of that name. Pic world-preems here tonight (Tues.) at Fox-Wilshire Theatre. Georges Banyai, holding power of attorney from the Parisian nit- ci'y, brought suit last week charg- ing illegal use of trade name and asked film be kept from showings. ^served that film rather than damaging nitery was giving it a great deal of publicity. Defendants are FWC, Pierre La Mure, Jose Ferrer, John Huston, ■Komulu s Films and United Artists. Buys Out UPT Stock In Jefferson Amus. Beaumont, Tex., Dec. 16. r!,ii Jeffers on Amus. Co., prin- ts .°l )era tor of a circuit of thea- J fl 1 ! 1 southeast Texas, has pur- n °f the stock in the corn- s' previously held by United Pai mount Theatres. j Af . / an d its predecessors held eueison Amus. stock since 1927. OUT SOON! The 47th Anniversary Number Of & Form* closing shortly Usual Advertising rates prevail Special exploitation advantages Copy and space reservations may he sent to any Variety office MEW YORK 34 154 W. 44th St. HOLLYWOOD 21 4311 Yucca St. CHICAGO 11 412 N, Michigan Av«. LONDON, W. C. 2 • St. Martin's Place Trafalgar Sqaara Theatre Newsreels Have No TV Fears, Sez Pathe’s Ament Five major theatrical newsreels, after having suffered originally when TV first started its postwar growth, are now operating on a stable basis with no fear of TV, according to Pathe News veepee Walton C. Ament. It’s his belief that theatre audiences now expect newsreels as part of the regular program, and that the reels can hold their own against TV because of their “better and more compre- hensive coverage,” based on the wider experience of their reporters and cameramen, and their supe- riority in film quality. In line with the theatrical reels- vs.-TV competition, Ament vehe- mently denied reports that the ma- jor reels deliberately stalled the TV film coverage of President-elect Eisenhower's recent Korean junket in order to reduce the coverage time lag between the two media. “There was no delay and no stall- ing either in shipping, pickup or processing,” he said, “and it was only by virtue of the careful fore- handed planning of the theatrical newsreels that the TV reels had any film to show.” Ament also contested the TV reels’ claim that more people see a single network news show than see the product of all five theatri- cal reels each week. He cited the latest Motion Picture Assn, of America figures as estimating that 60,000,000 people attend filmeries each week. No single video show can lure an audience anywhere near that size, he said. U.S. Cos. to Participate In ACT’s 50th Anni U. S. film companies will par- ticipate in the 50th anni celebra- tion of African Consolidated Thea- tres although on a more limited basis than requested by the South African circuit. Outfit originally asked U. S. filmeries to contribute to a 12-page supplement skedded for the Johannesburg Sunday Times, with an estimated cost of about $1,800 per company. American companies, following a N ew York meeting of the foreign managers, effected a compromise whereby each company would shell out' about half the coin asked. 37 Writers Slated For Col Prod. Mill Hollywood, Dec. 23. Thirty-seven writers will be at work within a fortnight at Colum- bia to tee off studio's 1953 activi- ties. Of these, 35 are already set. Lineup includes the British nov- elist-historian-poetess, Dr. Edith Sitwell, who arrives Jan. 5 to script her “Fanfare for Elizabeth.”