Variety (July 1953)

Wednesday, July 29, 1953 P4&RfiS¥r ? There is kudos for / everybody in the industry’s virtually successful campaign to exempt motion picture thea tres f rom the 20% Fecleral admissions tax. But the biggest bows must go to the grassroots principle that .has long beep a plea by proponents within, the Council of Motion Picture drganizations; i;e., that by . concerted; action and proper representation the grassroots exhibitors, along with the maj or segments of the iridastry, can work .out their economic survival. • > , Industry leaders; see a reaffirmation of the .principle of /‘‘£6yernment. by" the people, for the people” in the solcms* sympathetic ... attitude to the pleas for the1 tax cut. -:'It is also an. obvious conclusion that a. united front can achieve favorable industry results .for the commonweal. Exhibition and distribution rode tandem in this year-long campaign, which niay well prove the economic; survival for some 5,000 or 6,000 theatres; .Whdt the Government : may lose in. amusement taxes is more thah offset ;by the saving, of these thousands Of theatres from becoming realty and economic casualties. A neighborhood theatre is a greater morale force, be it for elementary entertainment or as a focal point for causes and collections which run. the . gamut from the Red Gross and. March of Dimes to Kbrean-American Relief, tha n the same ; Site converted into a parking lot or. a supermarket. • . ■ It’s . up to the President, now, but. whether Mr. Eisenhower signs it, Or goes in face;, of his own Congress, is almost; not as .important as the ;. conclusion that all^industry coo r d i n a t io it can. achieve many a favorable result. The picture, business found its stature in D. €. at “lowest ebb," according to one showman, . but the “Mason admissions tax relief bill’* (as it is more formally \ identified > has done much to reestablish the industry. .; ,'/ :: More’ important now, ‘however, is the ind us try ’s io 1 low1 h rough • to thank , all and sundry— Noah Mason, Eugene Milliken, Wliham KnOwlahd, Joe Martin, Joe Hallack, Daniel Regd, ;I^o v Allen (of the Rules Committee) and other solbns concerned. Shpwmen-^exhibs and distribs, / producers and personalities, legalists and .lobbyistsr-all owe’ a great pig than ky ou to any / and all of the above— and to their own state senators and congressmen—for their Sympathy and. understanding. A note of appreciation for a friendly cheering section in Washington is not only good manners but smart;, operation. The industry . is .optimistic that President Eisenhower, who; could have stopped the. 20% exemption drive, it) the Ways & Means Committee, .and couid have clone likewise i n the Rules • : Committee, will go, along with the Congress; The ■: grassroots people saw their representatives, and the duly elected representatives of the folks back home — in this instance the theatreowners— rpa-iized. the economic necessity for the move. For many • •‘ theatres it is a reprieve from bankruptcy. For others, it rees tablishes credit for them— they can now borrow for the new • screens, fadeilfting, the hew stereo sound. . If and how .theatres pass on the tax-saving, or don’t, is secondary at the moment. Theatres in the black are, bound to pass it d.n, although it is well established, that cuttiirg. prices doesn’t add customers. If they wanna^ As for thd personal bouquets, CoL H. A. Cole, of Dallas, and Pat McGee, of Denver, as co-chairmen of the campaign, have much to be. pleased about. They coordinated. weli/With COMPO’s Bob Coyne,, special counsel; . and the three. COMPO toppers Al : Lichtman, Sam Pinanski and Tru e m a n It e m b use h —res p ec t'i v e 1 y heading d is t rib ution and exhibition ( Pinanski for TO A and Re m.busch for Allied.) .. . •• It is a healthy thing all around. Referred rentals and niorar : toriums.; o n ■.. goi rig-b uSi ness debts will be. obviated. Economic . la t i t ude for i rn.p ro v ements to keep pace with the current .evolutions in audience values* will be made possible.. It’s all been' a fob well, done— not, for a few, butfor tht;. industry at large. ■■■■. Abel. I IN HX TAX LIFT With only the President’s signature now between ex tubs and their dream of a better life without the 20%> hdniission tax, tlve» atre bps this Week were beginning to conbenlrale on the public relations phase of their momentous victory, . JGxhibs ‘in their. j.u bi la t;i bn .over a success which all had hoped, for but few. .. had believed possible;, smarted; mulling, two aspects, of the ex pect e d e I inti natio n . of t h e Fe d / era I tax;: /■:.-.•• 1 . The need to explain ' to the public why the benefits aren’t being passed oit at the b,o, ,2. The urgent necessity to keep on the alert and fashion a defense against the -expected avaianclve . of state; county and local bids for.' a part of the tax bile... In both cases, COM P() •/( Councilof Motion -Picture /O.rganiv.atibns ).figures it eon Id make good use of (he fact-crammed kit containing vital statistics on the plight of thepic biz, which It got into the; bands of Senators last Week prior to the1 yoice vote Which. .brought, the admission tax one step closer to ex ; . (Continued oii page 19) PAR DICKERS NEW DEAL ; V . Holl) wood, July 211. '. /Seven months ahead of time, ParanuhT ni fs talking a new deal wit. I v l)n itl tar l in an as c hie f o f . s i u•dio product ion. . Ills current coir trad covers' : i luce yea rs, ... Negotiat ion s. ; were started he re last • week by Barney llalabiin, Paramount pre:x,v. after view ing the company’s new ly Completed films. •; Washington/ .liily 20, . A hearing, on the Peed bill, to eliini nate mandatory treble damages in civil antitrust suits, arid permit the judge to set the damage figure up to a. cciliiig of three; Limes actual damages, wi 1 1. . be held l.»y the Mouse Judiciary Committee tomorrow (:Wed. )-. , Measure is of great interest to Hollywood, which has been on the paying end of numerous treble damage suits in recent years, Ausiln Keough, general counsel for Paramount, is. expected1 to test i fy in f nvor of I lie legislation. Spokesmen for exhibitor prgahi/,:o lions: w i 1 1 probably appear on the other side, w ith the Dept, of .Insl ice also slated to ; make an appearance; High Court 0.0. Film industry's normal marketing method --showcasing irl big downtow'n theatres of large cities and then spreading but to nabe and surbiirban theatres— will be reviewed. bv the U. -,S,': Supreme Court in its. fail term as a result of a. writ of ccrliorari filed: by Tlie;itre Fnlerpriscs. Inc-. /of ltal timbre, "Case is regarded ivy distribs as one of. t lie inbsl imporlant lawsuits the industry lias faced in recent years, since a High ( ’oiiii decision upholding the I, i in tiff’s argument can:' seriously U|)se| a selling sysI (‘in arrived at -afteiv years of .expeii(uic.e and. regiiided as the best1 practical ’ and orderly, nianncr to. market pictures. V Tlicalie KiilerprisTvs, /.'operators.’ of. the ( ,.i'(‘.sl Theatre, a n(‘w.' th(*atre in. a .rv'ti'ent-ly.'-rdevelojveii habe (avinu; unity,/ charged all the disI rilvs <ii)(l (‘erlairi ('ii ciilfs. With', conspiracy ili not ariow'ing the Crest I b r< ‘reive excliis.i vi* fi rs t riin i • i g 1 1 1 s or a. day.-aml-’dafe staliis w i I li (lie downtown houses, Hofti a district court w’il h a. Jury ami a c-oiirt. .of ap|M*als have . ii.p.li(*ld t lie (list rib argii.imvnt. that a change in the selling, teclinupie could cause serious ((’oni.inund on. page. . 127) *e Polaroid deal w:ith Milton Rk (lun/burg, under which latter had exclusive distrilviit Ion rights for the. 3-1) vicvvcrs up t o last .lit ly I5> is figured to have, netted jdm close to $2, 500, 0(H). before taxes, with Pol a rojd ’s sit a re . slightly less: t liati that. ■ /’• ■'■/ /'■ .... • •' ' . J ; . ( I un/hurg's. orders from I htla i*oi<! so far add up to about ()(),00i),00t) viewers, and ,lte has an additional 23. 000, ()()(), still due, him under the : expired contract. He paid Pdiarbhi ().7e for each pair of specs and sold them for . 1 0c. realizing a profit of 3.3c per viewer. II is expenses were low,; since he simply took tliea t re ■■ail'd distrib orders and passed t hem on to Polaroid, / :;"/ Viewer producing out 01 is understood to peg Us cost at 3.5e for each pair of glass(‘s, leaving a pro lit rivai g i n of 3, 2c . .Th is . won I d . give it a domestic . profit of $2, 650,000, but part of this coin M:ent into ex pa n si o n a i ul retool lit g for in ass production. Now that Us projected deal for National; Screen 'Service to handle the polaroids lias blown up due to NSS’: refusal to give up distribution of other types of specs, Polaroid Is niul ling tin* possibility, of handling its own viewers arid eliminating the .mlddleipan.: However, it’s in . (Contiiiueii oh page 22) Rain Helps Biz in East; <Chance, No. 1, ‘ Second, ‘Feather’ Thifdj ^Moon Fourth .First demons! ral ioii of 20t.liFox’s new single .stereophonic sound syiem is skedded lor N, ' V.; in hIhmi! 10 clays. The 201 b si tidio. is packaging a lenglby show with (’ineinaScoipe footage In ini roduce the ..system. Included will be shots of the Coronation, view’s :of ilaris and exceipls from “12 Mile He(‘l.” A I .1 , i (* l.i I .man, 201 li' '.'director of distribution; s;iid. Monday . (27) t hat “Tile Hohe,” tirst . Cineimi— ScOjm* pir; Io. (bnie oul, wi 1 1 be, n*(( ‘onl itviied on page 127) Washington, July 28, In 1 1 1 e f i n a l fe w days of the Con gi‘es.->ional session, one of the big questions in Washington and yam on g motion picture meri. evbry • ■where .in /the nation is; “What’il' Ike do about; the 20% /tax r.el pealer?;’.’ if approved, biil' would . becotue .law. Sept, 1. . In. aiiy ease, the iPresident. 'has JT Aug; 7 'fb. make up : 1) is mind/ if be doesn’t act by.lhenj and Con-; gness is, still in session, .the. bill becomes, law; . automaticany/ If congress adjourns// the ; Mason measure dies in.-a “pocket velo.” t phi, passed easily by . both the House and Senate, is at the White . ou.se, with the trend of speculation swinging more and more to the belief that the President will Mgn Jt. .... ; • .There', .are' several tins, . ■ -.. . admittedly, magnify Vent job by COMPO In getting bef ore Congress and the Administrathe pi e t u re of extrei he . lia rdv no KM-n^ xnffer.ew* by most ex' and specially by the u the better sense of the 01 7' *s',ld ' that In all his years au ontiiiued on page 126) reasons for 20TH FOX INKS MASON IN $IO,OOO BOOK DEAL Author .'Va.n/._Wyc'k--Mas.()'n-.'i-s. tlie latest autlioc^ 'ip , be^ ^^'.signed/by ^OLhFox’s eastern story editor. Bertram Bloc li . as;. part:’ of the company’s:. “Operation Bestseller/'.: Tinder the agreement. * 20tli ^ advances;. wellkno wn w rite rs a. . s' u m. Up to' a n yWhere near '$10/00.0., in. return lor. fight to an. .option /on tl.iei.r new' books;--' • //. .; .• j;V./. ' ■As Blocm explains it/ “We’re .just-/ t fy i ng to create best sel l e I's, t hat/s. all.’’ Other authors already under cont fact to. -20th include Tho bias ' Costain and John Jennings. .That all of them write for Douhleday ‘is a ro.ineidenee, accord in g to the.iotli ' exec,. . . / . ;'•> . Move, which, .Bloch / says. /isn’t part of a lbng^ range policy. ’.'/was7"' cued primarily by . the, need . for ; adequate .CinemaScopb' inalterial. ■ but actually originated even be j foie1 2Qth latched on. to the wide ! "sV'feen^yst'e'niT^'e^'sMTelp .vcreal e | a top seller, which, if turned into ■■ a pic, would, have the natural ad-r ! vantage of being presold. I . Breaking; of. torrid heal wave in eastern section of the U. S. via !'} heavy rain and the cjuanlily Dt popularity box/offiee pfoducl on.. 'release' are. lielping to keCp bix/ab a high levid currently. Fxlreme heat continued in .sonic cities but tin* sust ained popularity of 3-t) )jix Is keeping .1 Hide -considera bly above normal sum met; levels .even in ■these; keys. “Second ' f liance.’’ (UKO'... third a . week ago, ,' is ; ta ki ng . 'over N’o. ;' i position, t.his, ro u n d . . . a cco v d.i u g to. reports' : from'. Varikty /cor res porid-. onl T in some -2 1. keys.' If . is d’lianip' by. a wide nvargi n. w'i Ilf big to gi:ea l 'retui'nS/. in viftUally : every c‘ i I y. •“ S h a n f ' ’• ( Par' again is holding firm' ip second/ spot; for Second /wtvek in •a row,: • './ / ,-■ ;• /’Charge ;i| F.e'at-heivB-rvef’t IWB • fi rs t ■ last week, ■ i s fi nj sliing third. !.;Mp(in Is / Bl u.'e’’ ( Cf A I • on .release to 'any extent for 'on|y two wee ks , is pushing -up to/, fourth place, a net likely will be heard fj;om addition ally. '. -'/■• ./ ' “Cinerama’’ (Indie) Is fifth-, w.'liile. “$talag .17“ {Pai;),,/just gelling:. under: way;/ is . taking sixth money. “While Witch Doctdr” (20tli» Is managing to. land , seven! h slot ,'. wit h “Ride; Vaquetp! '( M-(J> . climbin g to eighth/ “Scared Sti fl” (Pari is winding up ninth. : / “Farm(‘r Takes Wife” '.(201 h). “Story, of 3 Loves” ) and “The Maze’/ (A A ); round put: the Golden Dozen in that sequence. -■ "T“;GentTcmeh FT^fer / • Blond^vl (20th) looms, as, one of the . ino-d ill ' “Band Wago'D" ;(.\1 ( M is ariothei. new pic w'hirh rales liieh polenfial. . hej.ng I erri/’ic in I bird ' N, Y. M iisic Ifall /week and greal in Washings • I on . “(loudj ni “ ( I hi r ' . a not her new cut rv, is ' l'a I. in Minnca polls; nice m N, . y„ sock in Hallo, tine./in Phillv and lf.im in L A. / “Kid From Left' Ficid’’ (20lh) sfiaptvs spol.ly, will) neat/ .takings/ in IrKliauajxjli.s. '■ M is disapiyoint ing1 in .Del I’oif',fair in. ('Jevciand arid sljm '/■■in IMl.Khuiglr “I. ihe Jinv'’ M J-A> ..:is,ra Led' .smash" i/i .Clii. wil If rih nssivl fr.om slagesf.io'A;. “Sw orda.ndltosC” ■ .'/i.tKC )i, also I'rW, i-/ KO.c.ko in Frisco, “ It 'III rn /la) . P i rad in*’.’ I orhiis ■ great. . in. Chi,. “Inferno” ../TO'I I v ) shai)(‘s Jig I if in Clii on secoml./puncl /'Vice ,/Srj u;jft" '; It; \ i looks big, in /Hu Oaio /and irvel w/in Philiy. ' /// -■"-. ; /' •' / Francis' (’oy'e/fs ifig /ro\vr.i’’ a;.i con I in ijcs. U n i forai.i ly , big I o sl'u/cd v // ip ..v.’Veral . si/ol s. J-’l . 'hi /( ’ol r / r (Mg(;s from sock t o-mCal on /some '/fresh hookings. “'I'hiinrlcV/Jhj.v1' ' C > it so I i ri. irl . /(’of onto; ' Afoul iff R-ougi*’' .((/Ai; -stilt playing; in a few bigger. Roys. is big in 'I’d rohlp a rid. (n i ia 1 1 a , a nd s m a s 1 1 on Phillv extended run:. / “Dream .'. Wife’ ;,(;\T-G).-' looks/liglit . i L. A. TV.OOO Finger.-,’’ i (.’ol i, fine ' in pe-. I rou . is fair in Idiilly. ; “Sioux Uprising/’ shapes llisi v . in Pori land, “Let’s . Do. It” 'Col ' is' rnild in Buffalo. “Outer Sf>a c;C” '(.;.) looms .Tout in Detroit, “AH . f . Desire” (U/i is h elty in Jmjjsyil leand good in Ciney, '■■ “ A fT'j i r ; .Wit h SI ranger” (KKO) looks i Mi i 1 rv t ]-..( t -1 : I . !■’■ I. ! a T i .eh1 ivi.ii k Jh ^ i si «• i imI.' i’r>nNfH':o fev -MAik sinvintM an PuDllshod, Weekly by VARIETY, INC Jhit ohl Ki icli-i. ' l*n“'«iih*ri( Til. VVfst -»(llli SI. .. New V,,i k M. N V Hollywood . . . «:*. 1 1 VtJ»-< ,i si i ■1*1*1 ; : Washington 4 . 12'I2 N<<|li>.n;il. -IhMl'IiM'i Chicago 11 (*1Z Ng Mif.Ju "..in., A\ e. London ■ WC2 . 8. -.Si:. M ii I ih’h j'J , '1 S’l semsc /ni’TioN ■ A nrin:il : 9JIJ '. 1on-i/;n $.11 Sin, ’It* Z VOiih, AliKh CltKIA; Kdiloi •Vo I i !) I .No Jr INDEX 7 ‘ Hi.it-, ' /;/ -i dj ('halier " / ... ■ -|-2f» .Filin H'‘yie-.v ,. , d, ! .Hou ;e Review > . .. . . . . • M7- . I .n/i rie 1 * j cl i.ij 'i .-■■ . . .. . ; I '.) ]'n;,irl.e ."Jtadio. /. v.; /',,.' ' DV I.l'f/l (;i (*. ■ .'fe li‘ vi -ipn. ' m/.; : , ' .‘“f I riternat hjriaJ . . . ,/ fi) :.I/(*gi1inra,|<‘/. .. I lit -.'Literal i . / • ' /’:-.■ ’ I'D Mu he /;• • . ..lf)U New' Acts / '/-, . • ; j in Nighl Huh Rev/tew-,. ... . 1'lfi pbiluari(*.-> ......127 .Pictures ' . ; , .. -/;■{■ ItadiTj-'I’elev! -loti' . . , . ' 2:.» Radio Review v . . 3 ) /Record Review s ,. . /-. , mu .Frank Scuil.v ' , /. .'./ 22. T.el.cv i/i on Re vie a s ,. . . . : 31 Unit Reviews • / . . . . I j H Vaudeville . | i 2 promising of the ngwcornefs, being -smash in N. Y, and huge, ia Philiy;. I big .in Totbnlpv i i CompL'/ e Boxofficc R-.'porU bn. ' Po yes 8-9). ■ . DAILY VARIETY 1 ({’ui)li->hci) in f I r> | J wood hv Dtiilv Ktd i $15 fl Year. $gd Foreign