Variety (April 1953)

16 picrmRS Wednesday, April 22 , 1953 SWG Launches Economy Reshuffle To Avert Trouble, Set Dues Cut Hollywood, April 21. tee^^iCealary, Buffalo, leased Nine Causes (Count ’Em) listed for Foldo of Pic Houses by Real Estater Washington, April 21. Many causes contribute to the economic buffeting which has forced the closing of several hun- dred film theatres in recent years, 1 ? Y J J A A according to H. P. Holmes, of De- For Todd-AQ Teshngjtrou. chai™ ? n o £ healthy Writers Guild Is Installing econ- omy measures to forestall a. threat- ened $20,000 deficit this year to enable the Guild to ride out the next 12 months without getting in- volved in a ‘'dangerous 1 ’ situation. A SWG board member reported, he Guild has $100,000 in as-; - - j 0 ”* e ^th UA contemplat- 5 %o |"Sp. at bv I o7t C pu.aUo^t nte'rUS the Alliance of Television Film;! House, which was under lease by jj particularly to the suburbs; Producers. D* e Shea-Par-Loev^s combo for | ^ in-town parking and traffic n the executive board many years, has been operated by | problems; (5) older theatres be- Meanwhde thelexecuUve , Yellen interests for the past dec-economically obsolete with nronosal to reduce ade *Hew Hneup there would divide j h j gh flings an d huge space- to thr«2j first ' nm T 5 itua T ^ n “V 1 - 0 ^ 1 a ^^ 2 wasting lobbies; (6) high real es- and upping bSc" I ^ >ev ?ifv P ? r ’ H A *** mde P endent Hate taxes and high federal taxes SS^Ft Z r^SSomv nro- I ,BaaU Lafayette. f including both the 20% admissions SS, the hoard gave four weefcs > j and income levies; (7) modenuza- S to Bs cutrtdations firm.;,. . p ,,i n tion too expensive for many houses; City. Stats & Irwin. whoTe ; MaiOTS Settle Ozoner { ;s> Mgher operating costs indud- been receiving S5 000 annually. A „ n «« aaa hi ! too much high-priced labor SWG SSJSttle t expected to ban- > Sfflt far $150,000 PlflS forced on the theatre operators, die public relations after June 1. j T Board emphasized that the firm jp had done a good job but SWG J couldn’t afford it. Hues cut was defeated . _ i * it Committee of the National Assn. Negotiations have been complet- Rcal Estate Boards. i ed for the leasing of the Century, „ Holmes listed the following rea- jindependent Isons for the Senate Small Business wr board memoer reporter j first-run, by United Artists Thea- s subcommittee hearing indie ex- that the Guild has $100,000 in as- j uA^Stemplat- \ . a ? Uck fiUn distribution indud ed out s * ent Amusement Stock Quotations (N.Y. Stock Exchange) For Week Ending Tuesday (21) i and (9) too high-priced leases in First-Run Product. $T n s ot wj5h t0 convey th e Los Angeles, April 21. , conclusion,” said Holmes, “that SetUement of the $1,789,500' £e ^ ea A re "i“ grS Tat .£ cST !' treWe dam^e smt broughtW Sky- - But th r e in b a survivai of the money. Proposal nixed called for jj line - and California drive-in the-!«&»*• „, H ? not ,nd,eate the basic fees to be raised from $8 for■ a treS against the majors was ap- J™*i-SiS* associates to $15, and from $10 for" proved by Federal Judge Benjamin j jl iaS? msmtunv in «n nAtcMpr - H Herricnn TTndprcIftrvH thp maini-s 1 noimes, IOOK1 ♦Actual Sales i Quotations furnished by Dreyfus & Co.) Senate Plans to Slap active members to $20. However; Harrison. Understood the majors s the board raised registration fees settled for $150,000 and agreed to . en . tl ff^ i V ' leV Twn°! r f?_ from $1 to $2 for members, from (supply the drive-ins with first-run ; estate * said^ theatres closing de- &to Si for nonmembers. Hope is product P** s neighborhood values and year economy Defendants, charged with dis- !0ftcn dif[ieuU md expensive. Ini me . .. , I crimination and unfair competi-» a minority of case, he continued, wee v» s sessions as official observer Board also pointed out relatively. uon. were Paramount TCarn«s. thfe . oW theatres have been con- < fe r TOA oBserver from coin meet consultant 2en & Hamilton suggested revision jj tional Theatres and of Administrative organization and | CoasL Universal is reported to s installation of a budget. As far as | have settled its part of the com-1 a n. p . < « known, this does not mean any \ plaint shortly after the suit was P-vZODCF DIZ UFlZZlV lH changes in present administrative (filed more than two years ago. * J staff- jj This is the first case in which a J , 5 drive-in won a suit to obtain first* it i i 1* i% l it f run product and at the same time | Need Indie Producer Now \*™****te*^ iprod** by the record raiman Understood similar suits brought i Continued from pace 4 i blight to block.- East With Record Rain Attendance.^ at drive-ins in the northeast U. S. has been cut ap- »r T^n Qlrgvilro r. T? Tr most of this territory experi- lo rill Kelease okeds in i by .Ole Manchester and 1 San Pedro (enced s0 far tilis spring . J Drive-Ins are being settled out of Flats Shortage: Dowling} c6urt f or $75>00 ° 511(1 ^ 3 °>° 00 - Indie producers, completing or j ' ^ * embarking on pew 2-D ventures, • OIolCS Needed tO Bolstet are in an advantageous position, \ n* p v l p D H Ji now that major studios are cur - j PlY SUpplj^ SeZ K« DfEIldt tailing production due to 3-D, says \ In the New York, area *, alone, there’s been a downpour for 34 out of the last 52 days. Precipita- tion in March hit 7.91 inches, an alltime high, while April to date is credited with a fraction over five inches. panies, so as to compel them to agree* speedily on a. uniform 3-D the experi- different 1, Dept, -of Justice toppers will ‘ law, but said it could hurt small come before the committee to be told off and also to present their views. Senate committee’s record will remain open for 20 days there- after for the admission of supple- mental material, some of which has Already been requested by the committee. Claim lst-Runs Milked Most universal beef brought out by the committee last week was against the new distribution pat- exhibitors by putting many out of business. One charge, which brought a growl from the committee on Fri- day, was that little theatre men had been intimidated, or otherwise coerced, to the point where they feared to appear before the com- mittee. This charge was made by Beverly Miller, v,p. of Allied Inde- pendent Theatre Owners of Kansas and Missouri; and A. C. "Myrick, tern, whose keystone is a large j prexy of Allied Independent Thea- number of “pre-release” pictures Spokesmen charged that the super tre Owners of Iowa and Nebraska. Sen. Andrew F. Schoeppel (Rh t imposition of the pre-release upon; Kas.) chairman of the Small Busi- the i ness subcommittee conducting the recognized, old pattern of clear-, hearings, said he would send out investigators to probe the charges. ance, and is resulting in pictures being thoroughly milked before they reach the nabes. These, plus !. .T^ e ^. rS T ^ en ' ^* 1 ?" the imposition of producer and dis- ! (D .’ * owa ^ suggested possi- tributor-dictated higher prices for j ?5 e Y. entlI lf: . tlie studl . os - , were claimed to be I f rom distributing their own pic- dolations of the anti- ; trust decrees. Exhibitors were particularly worked up over the razzledazzle j run around they said they were re^ t peared during the three days: ceiving in the case of three new . Philip A. Sliman, New Iberia, La.; pictures, ‘.‘Peter Pan,” ‘‘Hans Chris- I Nathan Yamins, past prez of Allied, tian Andersen” and “Salome.” ? Boston; Col. H. A. Cole, Dallas, They were selected as prime exam- 1 member of the Allied board; Wilber pies of pix in which the distribu- ? Snafer, president of Allied; Reu- ben Shor, Cincinnati,, sec.. West Virginia Allied; Benjamin N. Ber- ger, Minneapolis, prez of North Central Allied; Allen Johnson, Rainy weekends, in particular. With a product shortage almost | have dampened the ozoners’ b.o. ?rtain to develop as studios | On Saturday night (18), another feels that there is still, and pre- jj switch to 3-D and widescreen pix, j wet evening, biz at the six Walter sumably will be for some time, a j there’s no reason why distribs j Beade drive-ins was definitely off, large market for flat pix. With* a i shouldn’t make some of their old j according to a spokesman for the „ ^ i f sl.ortage of flat product from the j b.o. hits available to bolster the \ chain. However, he expressed the I certain films, were claimed to be \ : rom c . , , major studios, Dowling feels dis- \ supply of films^ 1 belief that the season would be a direct legal violations of the anti- ; l ur . e ?: - as one to do "7 1 ! tribs will look tq_Jhe indies to < That’s the opinion of Richard ! good one, sinde over a period of trust decrees. | J ) ^ p t p ^^ p was not brought up agam xound out their release slates. ; Brandt, Trans-Lux Theatres -prexy, j months the weather tends to strike Exhibitors were particularly uiereaiier * Dowling, a member of the board \ who said in N. Y. last week (17) \ an average. worked up over the razzledazzle ! Among other witnesses who ap- of City Investing Co., of which 5*that the companies are making a I . his brother, Robert, is prexy, was! mistake by holding on to their in New York last week to attend a \ oldies, instead of making them City board meeting, to seek story \ available to exhibs who 'want to properties, and for preliminary I book them. . talks on a releasing deal for his j **i don’t go along with the-dis-, _ . , t . J jk 4. *’~ film, ‘Donovan’s j tribs’ attitude that reissue of so.me!full publisher support for any can- * ^ ors were violating their decrees. Stanley Adams Continued from page 1 first indie ( Brains.” Latter, which he described s 0 f the great films of. the last tw*o j didate of their choosing, as psychological thriller with sci- i decades would hurt their current I Some publishers are going along ence fiction overtones, stars Lew; releases,” Brandt declared. -“Oh? with Adams reluctantly since they, - - , n , _ ., , _ _ t, , Ayres and was completed in 14 j the contrary, if they brought back S would have preferred a writer of j divorcement portion of the decrees \ Grand Rapids, and E. L. Peaslee, days at the Motion Picture Centresome of the old Academy Award \ national stature as ASCAP prexy. 1 1S a ^ s0 being violated. They Said ; Stillwater, Minn, m Hollywood. Picture, now being 5 winners they’d probably do them- j Adams, however, has established a ! on ^ y apparent, technical divorce- { Over and over, witnesses claimed that, in addition to flagrant vio- lations of selling practices, the edited and scored, was completely \ se i V es arid the exhibs a favor.” i good rep in the Society as an ad- fmanced by Dowling. Tom Gnes j Brandt feels it would be wise to : ministrator and negotiator. He has served as executive producer and Felix Feist directed the film, which is based on a novel by Curt Siodmak. In addition .to Ayres, the cast includes Jean Evans, 1 ^les Nancy Davis and Steve Brody. *■ Dowling disclosed that he has plans for three more films, none of which involves 3-D. One will be filmed in Hollywood, another in the West Indies and the third in Europe. Producer returned to the Coast Friday (17) and expects to return to Gotham next month to conclude a deal for the release of “Donovan’s Brains.” squeeze another round out. of the ? been among the most active old product before 3-D and the j ASCAP board members in commit- wide screen take. over and there j tee work in the last couple of is a tendency to ogle . television [ years. It’s understood that Starr and Dreyfus expressed willingness to support Adams only for a one-year RCA Opens Theatre TV Lab at Camden Plant Rings Off to Munich j day (20) .that, despite the current For ‘Carnival* Filming* 1 e xhib. orders for the thea- x ui v^auuvAi rummg \ tre TV units Drodllction . W31s rnn _ Producers Frank and Maury King left New York yesterday (Tues.) for Munich, with plans to start rolling with their next pic, “Carnival,” at the Geiselgasteig Studios June 15. Kurt Neumann, director of the pic, left for Ger- many Monday. Anne Baxter, now in Europe, and Steve Cochran will have the leads. term. After that, the top publish- ers will review the situation with (the possibility of their switching Despite a virtual standstill in {to a top writer such as Oscar Ham- sales of rfe theatre television | merstein 2d, Cole Porter or Irving equipment, RCA has opened a-new j Berlin. All three of these Writers theatre TV development lab at its j have declined to run in previous Camden, N.J., plant. The lab will \ years due to pressure of their own be largely devoted to color thea- j cleffing chores. It’s expected that the move for naming a general manager for ASCAP will be revived next year. Under this -group, the g.m. would handle all the administrative de- tails, making the prexy spot more attractive to the name cleffers. The late John G. Paine, w'ho died about five years ago, was ASCAP’s last general manager. ment had been achieved, but that distributors continued to work in close harmony w’ith their former theatre chains. Several times, members of the Senate committee suggested best possible solution would be Film Rentals Continued from page 7 , tre TV experiments. ‘ An RCA spokesman said Mon- tre TV units, production was con- tinuing. It is known that RCA* has a considerable backlog of the pro- jectors. Slow sales are blamed both on the development of 3-D and widescreen systems which are making demands on exhibs’ pock- etbooks, and on the theatres’ hesi- tancy to invest in black-and-white when color TV might be around the corner. Abner Grcshler optioned “I'll Cry Tomorrow,”. based on the ca- reer of Lillian Roth, for indie film production. penses are also incurred for the self- i obtaining of larger size reels and policing by the industry, rather i reel cans, none of which is passed than new legislation. . However, 1 on to the exhibitor. Part of the Allied witnesses rejected arbitra-• cost of the Polaroid classes is also tion, insisting that the exhibitors J borne by the distribs, with half the were not strong enough to protect cost of the glasses coming off the themselves. They said that since} top of the theatre receipts, the Justice Dept. w r as responsible for the antitrust decrees, the de- partment should provide perma- nent policing of these decrees. Hearing was shot through with : 3-D films. One is made in 3-D for charges that the large companies theatres showing a depth picture are engaged in a large-scale, de- just prior to the engagement of liberate plot to force small, inde- another three-dimension picture. An added expense for distribs is the manufacture of trailers, with as many as three different versions of trailers required for pendent exhibitors out of business, and that the complained-about tac- tics were simply weapons in this conspiracy. ^—* Allied spokesHtem especially board chairman Abram F. Myers, quoted from predictions of large company people that the changing pattern of entertainment will force out many small exhibitors. Several witnesses urged the com- The second is made in fiat for the- atres not then showing a 3-D film, but which is booking a depth pic- This trailer features stars of the picture and contains a pitch about the excitement offered by 3-D. The third trailer is a conven- tional 2-D effort, pointing up story values without mention of 3-D. Lat- ter is aimed for areas w T here the \ picture will be released as an ordi- mittee to put the heat on film com- ‘ nary flat picture.