Variety (April 1953)

IS FICTCTUES Wednes^ ApH! 22, 1953 Film Tax Fight Continued from page • Minn. Amuse. Pulls Its Mpls. Belt In Green Proxy Continued from pase 5 4 ! North Central Allied To Huddle on 3-D, Screens mitten were annieng the 29 legssla- tog tors jfiio icttiadiitced measures* to the past few years, kill the 20% kite oa film theatres. In addition, approximately 50 members of the House and me Senator either appeared as volun- Minneapolis, April 21. Annual convention of North Central Allied to he held May 4-5 at the Hotel Nicollet here will have and member of the law firm of Ara- | now, Brodsky, Einhorn & Dana, j and William B. Rothschild. Nomi- Minneapolis, April 21. I nees themselves own 84,950 shares, ii several highlights, in addition to r i With United Paramount Theatrejj according to Green, and directly \ a report from national prexy WU* Cole explained that film theatres j ^Minnesota Amusement Co.) here represent 33,280. | bur Snaper. Among others sehed- cannot raise their prices any more. I down from seven to four neighbor-1 Division Is as follows: Green, • uled-to address the conclave aTe He said they are about at ceiling j; hood and from seven to a quarteti 44 75O; Frawley, 20,000; Silverman, l Henderson -M. Richey, Metro’s ex- mh , m j 1. ^nllAtt^nd ‘ . maa * . , . >i •. , _ a “ — t .J t now. The only way the exhibitor - W- can get enough money to keep out tap’ witnesses mfcwr of the red, he said, is to eliminate islatioa or submitted statement ^ ^ ^ permit the theatre oa ,* kees tte Mn0,mt •* added « matter like this. £ revenue - Some questions were asked by The industry story was one of ji desperation. It was fashioned like ^ House committee. It was ad- State. a cry for help from a man going miffed that whatever was done downtown locally, following re- 20,000 plus 5,700 shares owned by | hibitor relations head, and Leon linquishment of the deluxe uptown jj ^ individuals for whom hehasjj Bamberger of RKO. Granada and Arion, there’s indus- a power 0 f attorney; Dann owns no | Also on the agenda will be a try speculation regarding the or-j shares but has power of attorney | comp i e te discussion of the latest cuit’s possible complete^ wrm- : for persons owning a total of 24,- j 3 _d widescreen developments. 580 shares; Rothschild, 200, plus power of attorney for three indi- viduals owning 3,000 shares. , Of the proposed slate, only Bann drawal from the local exhibition scene, except for a couple of loop theatres like Radio City and the maVp any comment on the current development. under for the third lime. would have to be determined by such assistance was provided to k ^ theatre men in their own lo- this business on the rocks, the j; Committee was told, mare ftaamj; Acfrprf about 3-D, Cole said the 5,000 theatres would shutter this j industry looks forward to it to re- ye ~* XL j,. . . w .. vive the business but that “this On the .other hand, if the re-; pj^^nts a -tough prohlem at the quested tax rehef w^e provided,;; moment,” because of the cost of permitting the exhibitors to keep ju^taHling equipment and the un- the equivaient of the tax m ?° e ^ ^certainty of which system will be additional revenue, they said they .■ eventual s u r vi vor. “It will take could survive. . ;; three to five years to deride,” he Presenting the case ^^ep^I opined, "and will add greatly to ture business were Pat McGee, of g 0 ]J r cos ^ s »» Benver, vice president of Theatre 1 ^ ^ closings, which I S'gSScT Owners of America; CoL H. A. I|, . t ^ te TTgr* ^ the 1Bfas “ compliance Cole, of Balias, member of the Al- !j aTthreTa P” 01 the - Paramonil l de ” lied States Assn, hoard; and Rob- [; SSytaMStat *"5 *5® 1B S ert W Covne special counsel for I Tf recem x I made before the present prolonged 1 *-*-*- The nther Sindlinger, Philadelphia statistt- cian, who submitted a detailed'I SJ? theatre No statement regarding the cir- j appears connected in any way with A merchandising clinic designed to boost concession sales has been slated along with the regular film clinic. Board meet will tee off cult’s longterm plans regarding ] tlie film biz. He’s been a director Minneapolis, howev er, hasbeeu 1 ^ Five Continent Films, foreign forthcoming from Harry B. French, j importers and distribs, since MAC president, who refuses to [ 1951^ Green’s big pitch was for sup- . . -iport in his fight against abolition Abandonment of theatres in sBl 0 f cumulative voting, a move which ins t an ce s but one 112s occurrea J jjg said would “destroy any chance duri ng the past several years of 1 j or th e unorganized stockholders to TV’s toehold locally, and has fol- lowed expiration of leases or re- sulted from sales of showhouses for commercial purposes. The di- vorcement of one of the theatres. but which also claimed that tax- i Af . ^ • , . T _ _ , IT _ Q ™ - no _ 1 _ aBf CojTie said the theatres need the w /f e » Government would P rob -i extra money which the 20% tax bMc rtoA- A. mitAti Tnnnor ni- inArO • " 1 embraces for capital to improve their properties so they can com- pete with other forms of amuse- ment. At one point, Simpson inquired: solve the ably get as much money—or more —by killing oft the excise, than by maintaining it. This is the case which was presented earlier to the Treasury expert s. Villain of a printed statement || ??? d STS contained the baldest admission ever made by the film industry that non-industry witness TV has dealt it tremendous blowbrought mi off-beat pitch to the after blow. It said that from 1946 ( ^smn. He was R. H, Hamilton, to 1948, as business dwindled, pic- ii onrector of the Washington office hire theatres tightened their belts £ the Ammcan Mmuapal Asm. and reduced expenses to keep go- ■ ur S e ^_ Hie elim i n a t ion of the log. and contumes: i 20r ° admissions tax on every type “It was in this weakened condi- i 01 amnsemmt now paying it. This lion that the movie theatre, in' something the co mmi ttee 1948, was called on to meet its d>ant want to hearyesterday when greatest challenge—television. The. d refused to permit witnesses from results were staggering. Assured jj °*ner amusements to appear, by the purchase of a television set I. ^ u equally wise,* said H a m i l- box-office downtrend. The other withdrawals have been voluntary. One downtown theatre, the Aster, was sold by MAC, but then taken baric when the purchaser re- neged on payments. It has been shuttered for a year and a half and there are no plans to reopen it. The downtown Palace was dropped upon expiration of the lease. The neighborhood. Nokomis was sold for commercial purposes. MAC stepped out from the Gra- nada and Arion when their leases expired this month. In St. Paul, MAC sold two downtown first-run theatres, the j Strand and Tower, to meet Para- mount consent decree require- ments, but later bad the houses tossed back into its lap. With ex- piration of their leases last month, the chain was able to get out from under. In the other Twin City, the circuit now is operating two downtown and five neighborhood theatres. Several of the latter are' under leases which still have some time to run. of what was equivalent to a free ’ f 011 ^ ^ presentation, 'To remove moving picture, millions of Ameri- ii ^ from a bouse wherein le gitim a t e yans made the pleasant discovery 1 theatrical performances or live that there is no place isfrp home, j, stas e shows are presented. There “The impact on movie theatre at- ii seems to be no valid basis or rea- tcndance was devastating. In those son Tor si ngli ng out movie houses metropolitan areas which soon be-, as „ a Place of amusement from came saturated with television, the-; w bich to remove the tax, as op- atre business dropped more than 1 pcsed_ to other places of amuse- 40%. In the so-called fringe areas, where television reception was not so good, theatre business went off 22%. ‘Message’ Pix Continued from page 5 the two-day sessions. Big Des Homes Agenda Bes Moines, April ^21. With the annual convention of Allied of Iowa, Nebraska & Hid* Central set for May 12-13 at the Fort Bes Moines Hotel here, or- ganization has been advised by 20th-Fox sales chief Al Utchtman that his company may have a Cinemascope demonstration for delegates. Two-day conclave will also dis- cuss new projection techniques, as well as reports on the Small Busi- ness Committee hearings and the drive for a reduction in the ad- missions tax. In addition, therell be the usual film clinics, open forums, luncheons and banquets. ment.** Hamilton said be favored with- drawal of the Federal Government from that tax area, so that the ‘Juliet’ Continued from page 1 “Under this smashing blow and ■ cities could move into the vacuum, with inflation heightening, theatres ? cities deserve the tax be- went down like nine-pins. Twentv-; cause of the services they provide three percent of all four-wall the- * t° r amusements—-policing, mainte- atres within primary television § nance of lights, highways, etc. area have closed since 1948—a ■ more than one out of five casualty j rate. The actual number of four- 9 wall theatres that have closed since - 1948 is 3,085, of which 1,975 were • In primary television areas. i “In the large areas where there J Hammerstein, * during interviews, was no television, the story was - were vague on. details about the better. In these areas, theatre jj romanticized backstage plot and g rosses were up 3.2 percent. . . J their musifc. Although avoiding ut this freedom from television 5 ; predictions, Rodgers said they felt was not to last. In the summer of ? that the score of 14 songs has 1952 the freeze on new television j jelled so well that they didn’t ex- stations was ended. The old pat- pect to make many important musi- ern was repeated, for every 2% \ cal changes between Cleveland and gain in television set ownership, New York, where it opens May 28 there was a corresponding drop of! at the Majestic. 1% in theatre grosses.... j From all evidence, “Juliet” pro- “Meanwhile fringe TV areas l duction. costs may soar to $250,000 have become saturated with sets ; before the author-managers have it and theatre grosses have gone off \ completely pojished. Exactly 50 another 15%. From this grim pic-! stagehands were needed to hang its ture one ray of hope emerges for j sets, running up a reputed bill of the harassed theatre owner. As ,56,000 in one week for their,serv- tele set sales approach saturation, ‘ ices; the decline in theatre grosses slows I A huge light bridge, one of Jo down and then levels off. Indeed, j Mielziner’s most impressive props, In such thoroughly TV-saturated ! gave him and technicians the most markets as Chicago, Detroit and : trouble. They finally had to call in Philadelphia, downtown theatres^ a Cleveland building construction have shown a slight increase in ? crew to get the steel bridge and grosses. jj supports safely anchored in con- “But the national picture still I crete under the theatre's stage, holds gloomy prospects, for 91% | Extra lighting equipment said to of U. S. theatres, contributing 98% »cost $11,000 was ordered at the last of the total theatre gross,, will be \ minute. With such massive sets under television’s umbrella by the | plus a troupe including almost 200 end of 1953.” * people, back and front-stage, di- Sockfeature of the COMPO pres- rector George Abbott and R & H entation was a 22-minute film, in _ will face some tough stagecraft which McGee served as narrator ’ problems when the time comes for and which brought in interviews; barnstorming “Me and Juliet” with name exhibitors and also a ) from coast to coast. first place and that, in Its present critical period, a return to the ap- peal of 100% entertainment is as desirable as it’s essential. “The public wants entertain- ment. It doesn’t want a message thrown at them, particularly if the message becomes a predominant part of the picture,” said a major company exec. Exhibs tend to agree with this attitude, although there are some who feel that the j industry has an obligation that' goes beyond mere entertainment. \ In peddling its “The Hoaxters,” anti-Commie documeptarv. Metro ran into a couple of exhib snags. An added reason why the screen is likely to be free of controversy for some time to come is the ad- vent of 3-D and wide screens. Pro- ducers at present are more inter- ested in form than they are in con- tent and stories are being bought to fit what are seen as the require- ments of the new methods. Observers are inclined to agree that the activities of Sen. Joseph McCarthy in relation to his inves- tigation of the Voice of America have left their imprint on Holly- wood as well as other media of communication. Additionally, the effects of American Legion pres- suring in connection with Charles Chaplin’s “Limelight” have indi- cated how much a film can be hurt by active pressure groups. There is concern among execs lest the industry be accused of not turning out its share of anti-Red pix. It’s pointed out that Holly- wood’s accomplishments in this field have not been overwhelming, which is seen in sharp contrast to the dramatization of the Nazi evil before and during the war. Currently going into release is 20th-Fox’s “Man- on a Tightrope,” which tells of the successful at- tempt of a small circus to come out from behind the Iron Curtain. 20th also has bought “The Cannibals,” a Jed Harris original about divided Berlin. secure proportionate representa- tion” on the board. He also re- peated his former charges against the 20th management, and outlined the two resolutions he is propos- ing for" the annual stockholders meet May 19 in N. Y. The Directors Best* Green’s proxy letter said he had deliberately determined not to name a full board but to restrict himself to nominating five direc- tors since this would best serve the interest of the stockholders. By the same token, he declared, “the experience of existing management should not be completely ignored. Accordingly, I believe that the in- terest -of present management could be adequately represented by the remaining five directors.” He said “it is our intention to ask Mr. Zanuck to stay with the company, but on some revised form of contract, should we have an ac- tive voice in the management of the company.” Green currently has a derivative stockholders suit pending against both Zanuck and 20th prexy Spyros jj P. Skouras, seeking to have the * court nullify portions of their con- j tracts. Zanuck has made it al- ready clear he would not work with Green, and that he considers Skou- to keep ras best fitted for the president’s mented. 3°^* Raibourn cited Dept, of Com- Green proxy statement gave the merce figures which reflected the latter’s version of his converse-1 trends. Admissions amounted to tions with Skouras and the various ** ™ ** ™ proposals made. He appealed to stockholders, whether they are with or against him in the proxy" \ fight, to side with the Green group in fighting for the retention of cumulative voting. 1 Since, under the cumulative vot- ing system, it takes about 230,000 shares to elect a director at 20th, it’s believed that a Green victory May 5 would permit him to get at least one man on the board. Delay ‘G&S’ U.S. Release By Swing to Widescreen Swing to widescreen will delay the U. S. release of the British- made Technicolor film, “Gilbert and Sullivan.” Made by Sir Alex- ander Korda In a deal with Hya Lopert and City Investing Co., film will be held baric mAil the fall; Producer and investors are studying the various widescreen methods, with thought of convert- ing the footage to keep in step with the widened screen trend. 3-D Marriage Continued from pase 5 them alive,” he com- I u# ' Conti AA Squawk Continued from page 7 sal 11, Columbia 11, Republic 9, UA 7, and AA 5. Japanese used local billings as a basis for de- termining each distrib’s share. New agreement also permits the companies to unthaw $2,500,000 of their frozen earnings in Japan, leaving another $5,200,000 in blocked balances. Remittances on current earnings continue at 30%, with the likeli- hood of the Japanese authorizing compensation deals for part of the remaining coin. Local use of blocked money is widened and the Japanese agree to a bonus incen- tive plan, under which an equiva- lent of 50% of coin invested in local production or for the pur- chase of Japanese pix Is con- vertible Into dollars. This follows the pattern currently set up in France and Britain. ^ Foreign managers met at the MPAA m N v Y. yesterday (Tues.) to discuss the Japanese deal and listen to the complaints of UA and AA. It’s pointed out that, even $1,500,000,000 in 1946; $1,200,000.- 000 in 1949, and $1,050,000,000 in 1952. Net profits in the same years, before taxes, were $350,000,- 000; $100,000,000 and, in 1952, $50,- 000,0000. Operation expenses over the same span were held to the same $1,200,000,000 yearly level. Industry w as kept out of the red, said Raibourn, via the sideline con- cession business, which amounted to $50,000,000 in 1946, to $100,000,- 000 in 1949 and $200,000,000 in 1952. -Raibourn insisted television was ’not to blame for films’ decline, un- ‘ derlining that the downtrend was j under way before TV had come ; into prominence. One of the big ‘influencing factors, he said, was the 20% Federal admissions tax w’hich, he explained, prevented the- atremen from raising their scales in step w’ith the continuing costs-of- living tilts over the years. How- ever, he now feels that ticket prices will go up with the adoption of big- screen and 3-D techniques. 2,500 Houses Continued from page 3 end of World War H. It held down admissions at a time w'hen operat- ing expenses were mounting, Mc- Gee said. “W e can’t meet free TV com- petition unless we get relief from this tax,” McGee declared. Chester Friedman, trade mag ed- itor, told the group to expect changes in film merchandising, as well as in methods of presenta- tion. He predicted theatremen themselves would still be the most important salesmen for the indus- try. Arthur Mayer, COMPO execu- tive vice-president; told the theatre owners that three-dimensional films are a temporary novelty, and the equipment necessary for showing Peter Rathvon will produce “The S them * s expensive. But the first International Touch” simultaneous- fiims will be moneymakers for IU in T?n rtl tfiL T?- _ L ■* />• 4U a i_ A the permits were allocated m.Tokyo, the companies could still shuffle their allocations among themselves if they had a mind to do so. MPAA hoard Monday ap- proved the Jap deal. ly in English. French and German : the big m England this summer. | Mayer. seaters, according to