Variety (April 1953)

WVjditeB<foy» April 3, 195$ Pj\ ffiSrr PICTIJHKS Squawking Exhibs May Face Legal ■p Y hibs who have been beefing* about for ced tilts in admission 1 crales and complaining that they're 5 may find themselves the S'of legal action if, strangely enough, the theatremen fail to up ticket prices. Films involved are the product of indie producers releasing through major companies. Latter outfit's who were defendants in the industry antitrust suit, are en- joined froip insisting upon raised admission. But there's no such in- junction against the indie film- makers. Consequently, Disney Produc- tions, for one, is serving notice that an exhib who has agreed to play a pic such as “Peter Pan" at increased prices, and then charges only regular scales, might be sub- jecting himself to a courtroom bout. In a specific instance, it’s under- stood that Cincinnati circuit oper- ator Ruben Shor has been’threat- ened with a suit by Disney because he, Shor, played “Pan" at standard prices. Position taken by Disney legalites is that any theatreowner, after having consented to raise the tariff, is guilty of copyright in- fringement if he fails to make good on that agreement. Disney office contends that, as owner of the copyright, it has the privilege of soliciting the promise from a theatreman that he’ll hike the scales for “Pan." If this position holds up, it ob- viously would apply to all indie producers releasing through any company. Among the current re- leases getting advanced admissions, it’s noted, is Samuel Goldwyn’s “Hans Christian Andersen," also going through RKO. e * RKO admits it is restrained from demanding stiffer b. o. prices. But the company further contends that in the case of “Pan" and “Ander- sen” it serves merely as the dis- tributor, not the seller, and has nothing to do with licensing terms. Disney and .Goldwyn set the licens- ing policy, RKO states. Winner Riled On Goldwyn 3-D Rap Samuel Goldwyn had Jack War- ner doing a burn within the past week over 3-D. WB studio sources claim Warner . was riled over Goldwyn’s statement that 3-D may cash in on novelty value at the start, but is not likely to last beyond a year. Warner is high on 3-D, includ- ing the use of Polaroid glasses which, he feels, will be accepted by the public. The Warner Bros. J-Der, “House of Wax," is now swinging into release. Studio topper is represented as tfarSPi^ at tlie P re sent Situation P/fj e s . introduction of w ben introduced by the Warners 25 years ago, also JSf.ni cnt i clsm * 0n the Coast a couple of weeks ago Warner, via “irP rmal P ress statement, rapped irresponsibie- persons who sought names r d ° Wn 3 0 ^ut named 110 Jack Warner Delays N.Y. Visit for Studio Confabs L ‘ y arner , originally slated Cnatf ri f^5 111 ■ New York from the WW« th i s W 1 ek for the P reem of delavpd House of Wax ” haa With « d w hlS ., trip east indefinitely, the ™™ WaX seen as determining 3 n ^ any s ^ninre course in the ini? £ rod uction chief is hold- iomeofflce ** pair ° f top Danv’t P f e P am Schneider, corn- man li° P financia * exec, and Nor- arrived on’ ^ort subjects topper, for tali. on ,i.,^ e Coast this week Prexv Hm^ ^T b'f studl ° chief and prexy Ha rry M. Warner. Hairy Problem Hollywood, April 7. Sudden influx of new dimen- sions has caused a crisis in the beard situation. With tell- tale 3-D on the job, it is a cinch to detect false whiskers on the screen. Pine-Thomas sent out a call for 120 bearded extras to ap- pear In “Those Sisters from Seattle" but was able to round up only 63. A legitimate beard on the screen must be at least two inches long. Rodgers Denies ‘Okla.’ Set For May Reopen Trust Decree; D. of J. Can’t Handle Hundreds’ of Beefs Case of left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing ap- peared in the making this week when Michael Todd, huddling on the Coast with Magna Theatre Corp.’s production v.p, Arthur Hornblow Jr., let It be understood that Bodgers & Hammerstein’s mu- sical “Oklahoma" would be the first production to be lensed by Magna in its Todd-AO widescreen process. Todd and Hornblow even have been talking “Oklahoma" with sev- eral directors. Richard Rodgers, who should know what’s what with his prop-, erty, categorically denies any such deal. “Nothing has changed," Rodgers said. “We wouldn’t make ‘Oklahoma’ into a film as long as it’s still making money on the road." It’s understood that Todd has the “Oklahoma" director already set. While neither Todd nor Joseph M. Schenck, Magna board chairman, would come straight out and say they’d set “Oklahoma," they also would nqt deny the fact. Todd made it ‘clear, however, that “no contracts have been signed as yet." “Oklahoma" is said to be slated to roll at the Goldwyn studios in July with a $3,500,000 budget, of which $1,000,000 is being charged against the legit musical property. Magna plans to roadshow “Okla- homa" in the 65m version, coming down to advanced admissions when it wears thin. After that, the pic will go out in conventional 35m too. Original Magna announcement had said R&H would supervise any of their musical productions that might be made. Film industry is losing vast rev- enue,. figured in the millions of dollars, by trade practices which evolved in recent years, and execs can’t com§ upon a way to prevent the waste. Importantly, that such a situation exists is not denied by many responsible film men.’ The money is going down the drain because top films, under the new exhibitor-distributor business relationship, are played off so quickly that the public is denied full opportunity to see them. Startling illustration of this was provided by UnitecT Paramount Theatres via a checkup on the ex- hibition of Metro’s “Quo Vadis." Leonard GoldensOn, head of the chain, said it was found, in one metropolitan area that “as* many as 200,000 people were still waiting for the attraction to play in sub- urban theatres, although it had al- ready played and gone.” Area checked, reportedly, was Philadel- phia. As an outgrowth of the Gov- ernment's antitrust suit against the eight principal distribs, exhibs have been demanding, and receiv- ing, films in substantially less time, than they could book them earlier. (Continued on page 20) Lay Off Pic Stocks, Widows, Orphans Told; ‘Okay for Hep Specs’ Film industry, appraised for its investment possibilities, is too much of a risk if you’re an orphan or a widow, sums up Wall St.’s largest brokerage house. As a matter of fact, says Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Beane, film stocks shouldn't be dabbled in by anyone other than an “experienced and sophisticated speculator." Financial outfit'takes the posi- tion that the trade is facing too many uncertainties for conserva- tive stock buyers. Also, the indus- try’s past record has been too erratic. “All of the manjr new technical developments such as 3-D films and (Continued on page 22) ‘DOLLS’COY FDR EARLY FILM DEAL, EYEING 3-D There’ll be a filmization deal for '•“Guys and Dolls" eventually, it appears, but it’s not in immedi- ate prospect. Frank Loesser, composer and lyricist for the musical click, said this week there have been only preliminary talks with Samuel Goldwyn as well as- others. Gold- wyn stated recently' he has been negotiating for the legiter. It’s understood the “Dolls” owners fig- ure the show may have added values via 3-D and may hold back on a pic deal pending further •clarification 6i the situation con- cerning that new depth dimension. Paramount, incidentally, has some underlying rights to the play via its ownership of screen rights to the original Damon Runyon story and a deal is now being talked for relinquishing these to the “Dolls" company. Piling It On Two producers were discuss- ing stereo, according to Uni- versal’s Bill Goetz. “I’ve got something much better even than 3-D,” one said. “My next picture will be in 4-D." “What’s that?,’’ asked the other. “It means I’m using 3-D and I’ve got a story too." TOA’s Reversal; To Testify m D.C. S m all Biz Probe Theatre Owners of America has agreed to appear before the Sen- ate ^Select Committee on Small Business when hearings open in Washington later this month, It was indicated this week. In a letter to Walter D. Amis, committee staf- fer, Walter Reade, Jr., TOA.exec veepee, declared “that we shefll be glad to be heard on the subject of the pending system of arbitra- tion, which subject we gather, from trade reports, will be considered by the Committee." Reade’s letter was in answer to request from Amis stating “the Committee wquld be happy to have an expression from your organization." Reade, top TOA exec while prexy Alfred Starr is on a Euro- pean trip, told Amis that TOA feels that most exhib complaints are arbitrable. TOA, he noted, Is therefore “prepared to appear be- fore the Committee to do whatever possible to break the stymie in intra-industry negotiations in this field.’’ Referring to grievances and com- plaints that do not lend themselves to arbitration, such as “demanding exorbitant film rentals and thus compelling theatre operators to ad- vance their admission prices,” (Continued on page 18) + Dept, of Justice has received “literally hundreds" of complaints from exhibitors anent the distrib- utor. practices spotlighted in the Senate Sub-Committee hearings, but lacks the manpower to Investi- gate them, sources close to the D. of J. disclosed this week. Also, it was said, stymieing any full- scale probe has been the matter of personnel uncertainties brought about by the change to the Repub- lican Administration. In Los Angeles last week Judge Stanley N. Barnes, presiding jur- ist of the State Superior Court, who has been named head of the D. of J. antitrust division, said he is now studying whether the De- partment is understaffed. Individual beefs registered with the Department by exhibs concern mainly clearances. Another factor behind the lack of pursuit of these has been the assumption that often the complainant theatre ops are seeking merely to improve their market position, although there’* no apparent evidence of illegal ac- tivity on the part of the film com- panies. It was further noted that the final decisions concerning exhib- distrib relations rest with Atty, (Continued on page 18) Disney Due Overseas Walt Disney arrived in N.Y. from the Coast yesterday (Tues.) and after a couple of days goes abroad. Producer will attend the April 16 preem of “Peter Pan" in Lon- don, 1 National Boxoffice Survey Easter Booms Biz; ‘Madam’ New Champ, ‘Salome’ 2d, ‘Pan’ 3d, ‘Rouge’ 4th, ‘Hans’ 5th We Sing" (20th) are runner-up pix. “Man on Tightrope’.’ (?0th) is rated good in L.A. on its preem. “Small Town Girl" (M-G), also new, shapes solid in Indianapolis, stout in Washington and lusty in St. Louis. “Lady Wants Mink" (Rep) is doing nicely in N.Y. but looms mild in L.A. “By Light of Silvery Moon" (WB) Is pushing up to gigantic $173,000 in its second week at the N.Y, Music Hall, where it is backed by the annual Easter stageshow. “Sombrero" (M-G) continues on disappointing side although good in L.A. and Denver, “dity Beneath Sea” (U) looks sharp in Chi. “Justice Is Done" (Burstyn) still is sock in fifth week of longrun in N.Y. “Sheltering Palms" (20th) Is okay in Portland, Ore. Same is true of “Hitch-Hiker" (RKO) in L.A. “Back on Broadway" (WB) looks fancy in Chi. “Abbott-Costello To Mars" (U), okay in Toronto, is fairish in Pitt. “Four Poster" (Col) is fine in Port- land, “Mississippi Gambler" (U), solid in Lpuisville, shapes nice in Detroit. . “Anna" (IFE) looms sock in N.Y. and Minneapolis. “Importance of Being Earnest” (U) is brisk in N.Y. and Frisco and big in Boston and Denver. “Jeopardy" (M-G), fair in Minne- apolis, shapes fine in N.Y. “Stodge" (Par) looks lusty in Toronto. “Des- tination Gobi" (20th), big in Seat- tle, is mainly mild to fair in other keys. (Complete Boxoffice Reports on Pages 10-11) Easter week, with usual school holidays for students- and brief va- cations, is giving biz in key cities covered by Variety a great hypo this session. Several cities were hurt some by rain but^ clear, mild weather on Easter Sun- day in most keys contributed to the upbeat. The extent of the current boom at the wickets is indicated by the fact that the five -biggest pic- tures will show better than $1,400,- 000 total gross. “Call Me Madam" (20th) is soar- ing to No. 1 spot with better than $400,000 gross in some 15 repre- sentative key cities. Nearly every playdate is smash to terrific. “Sa- lome" (Col) Is capturing second place with about 11 engagements, individual dates ranging from good and nice to record. “Peter Pan" (RKO-Disney), which was champ last week is third. “Moulin Rouge" (UA) is finish- ing a very big fourth with some eight playdates, most of them rated great to terrific. Showing was made despite obvious yen of youngsters to see “Pan" in current week. “Hans Christian Andersen" (RKO- Goldwyn), third a week ago, is fifth. “Off Limits" (Par) is pushing up to sixth. “Trouble Along Way" (WB), just out this week, is showing enough to land seventh position, “I Love Melvin" (M-G) will take eighth money. “I Confess" (WB) is still showing enough to win ninth. “Bwana Devil" (UA), “Desert Le- gion" (U) and “Little Sheba" (Par) round out the Golden. Dozen in that order. “Kettles on Vacation (U), “Naked Spur" (M-G) and “Tonight Par’s Widescreen ‘Shane’ Plans ✓ In the first Instance of a distrib undertaking to inject added values into a conventional 2?D pic via the widescreen treatment,- Paramount is holding up the release of “Shane" until at least midsummer. Hope is that by that time a number of theatres will have the broadened exhibition, equipment. Pic Is a “first” on another count, having been shown this week on the Coast to reviewers in the wide- screen manner, George Stevens f production, which has Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur (Continued on page 22) Trade Mark Registered FOUNDED BY SIME'SILVERMAN Published Weekly by VARIETY, INC. Harold Erichs,’ President 154 West 46th St. New Yofk 36, N.Y. Hollywood 28 6311 Yucca Street Washington 4 1292 National Press Building Chicago 11 612 No. Michigan Ave. • London WC2 8 St. Martin’s PI., Trafalgar Sq. SUBSCRIPTION Annual $10 Foreign... $11 Single Copies 25 Cents ABEL GREEN. 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