Variety (June 1957)

14 PICTURES PSiiiET? Wednesday, June 5, 1957 Ernst Wolff Again Gets Grace, Period To Salvage Mosaik Lab 4 ------ Berlin, June 4. Last week was to have been “B’ (for bankruptcy) week for the Mosaik dubbing and printinf studios here, but owner Emsl Wolff has managed to gain another month’s period of grace during which time he’ll try to negotiate a settlement with his creditors. As matters originally stood, •Wolff had until May 28 to get him¬ self a partner in the business and negotiate a settlement, or else bankruptcy proceedings would he started. He now has negotiated a deal with Regina Films of Paris under which Mosaik and'Regina cancel mutual debts and Regina with¬ draws bankruptcy proceedings against Mosaik.’ Though Mosaik needs around 3,500,000 DM to set- j tie with its creditors, none except Regina so far have gone to the courts to ask for bankruptcy pro¬ ceedings. Among those to: whom Mosaik is heavily indebted'are the rawstock suppliers. With the Regina quest thus-set- led, Wolff has now been able to go before the judge' and ask for the withdrawal of the bankruptcy pro¬ ceedings. This gives ’him 30 days to reach a settlement with the creditors out-of-court, or €0 days if a settlement is finally reached via the judge. Wolff plans another early meet¬ ing with his creditors, seeking a voluntary settlement of outstand¬ ing claims. Mosaik, Germany’s biggest dub-j bing and printing lab, is a going concern which has the business of most of the American companies. It got into trouble via the fold of the Allianz distribution outfit, in which Wolff was heavily involved and some of whose debts he per¬ sonally underwrote. The Berlin Senate has promised "Wolff to guarantee a 2,000,000 DM credit, provided he gets himself a partner. He has been negotiating with several prospective outfits, including UFA, which continues in the nicture. It’s questionable that, if UFA should in the long run take over, the U. S. outfits would con¬ tinue to do business with Mosaik. A deal for UFA to take over jointly with the big Geyer Labora¬ tories has fallen through. Wolff said here last week that he was in contact with a private hank which might provide the needed additional financing. How¬ ever, such optimistic statements have been made before. There are reports that several of. the American firms are consid¬ ering taking their dubbing work elsewhere, but they are discount¬ ed by Wolff. “This- is still the best dubbing laboratory in West Germany, and I still have a good name, which is worth something,” Wolff said. Mosaik is showing a 500.000 DM net annually. The American companies in the past have been anxious to help Wolff and Mosaik. However, some of the U. S. execs feel very strong- Iv that a settlement has been stalled for too long, with various parties being played off one against the other. The Regina claim against Mosaik is a comparatively small one—for only 50,000 DM. It’s being dropped in exchange for 150,000 DM. owed Wolff by Regina due to a lawsuit now being appealed in the French courts, but won in he first instance by Wolff. Latter in addition to owning Mosaik, also owns several Berlin theatres and realestate. He also owns the property on which the Mosaik studios are lo¬ cated. - Richard Brandt’s New Post Richard^ P. Brandt has been elected president of Trans-Lux Theatres and Pictures corpora¬ tions, according to PeTcival E. Fur- ber, president and board chairman of Trans-Lux Corporation. Brandt, son of circuit operator Harry Brandt, is in charge of Trans-Lux’s tv and motion picture activities: ■•‘Company distributes foreign films and has the Ency¬ clopedia Britannica library for tv. Furber also made known the ap¬ pointment of George Roth as T-L Pictures Corp. v.p. and his elec¬ tion to the board of T-L Pictures and T-L Distributing Coro. Roth has been a T-L Distributing Co. veep since 1955. Cleve. 20th-Fox Manager Retiring After 52 Yrs. Cleveland, June 4. I. J. (“Izzy to You”) Schmertz, branch manager of 20th-Fox Pic¬ tures here, is retiring Aug. 1 from v the company he has served 52 . years. One of the most popular veter¬ ans on Cleveland's Film row, “Schmertz entered film biz at 13 as William Fox’ office boy. He be¬ came Fox office manager, helped ! him open General : Film Co. branches around, country and su¬ pervised the New York headquar¬ ters of the magnate’s first film pro¬ duction company. That was Fox's Boxpffice Attrac¬ tions, which the late producer dis¬ solved to form-the Fox Film Co. After operating its Albany branch several years, Schmertz was ap¬ pointed Cleveland manager- iii 1926 and held this post without inter- motion for 31 years. Two years ago local exhibitors and a number of film exchange ex¬ ecutives staged a chromium-plated testimonial party for “Izzy” to qele-' brate his 50th anniversary with 20th-Fox and presented him with a new Cadillac. Schmertz said he plans to retire to his home in Miami Beach, Fla. 9 Towns Back To Minot, N. D., June 4. Ther? were exhibitor cheers when the number of North Dakota communities on daylight saving time took a heavy cut when nine towns in the state’s east central portion went back to standard time. The action was taken in a group by Mayville, Cooperstown, Finley, Hatton, Northwood, Galesburg, Clifford and Portland and also by Langdon after farmers’ request for the change. Here the city council this week also will consider rescinding DST. The local outdoor theatre and its manager, Earl Beck, have a suit pending in district court to try to knock, it out. Truman at ‘8(1 Days’ Preem Kansas City, June 4. Dignitaries were plentiful in the ceremonies which opened the show¬ ing of “Around the World, in 80 Days” at the Tower Theatre last i Wednesday (29). The premier was i held as a benefit for the Order of DeMolay, members of the order and their friends at Ararat Shrine and other Masonic groups made It a near capacity house in the 1,140- seat Tower. Present was Harry S. Truman Who said he had been attending premieres for 40 ^ears and always ! enjoyed them. Herbi Goldstein of Troy, brother of Howard Goldstein, salesman for 120th Century-Fox in Albany has | purchased Ft. Warren Drive-In .from F. Chase Hathaway at Caslle- ton, serviced by Albany ex¬ changes. Plot to Overthrew DST With the support of exhibi¬ tors, a hill has been quietly in¬ troduced in Congress to make standard time nationwide and to eliminate daylight saving time. • At present, the designation of daylight saving time is in the hands of local legislatures, both state and municipal. Be¬ cause of the increased inter¬ est in drivecjns among theatre , operators, daylight time has been opposed by exhibitors. In s6me communities, in associa¬ tion .with other businesses, theatres have been successful in beating down attempts to pass' legislation calling for the adoption of daylight time. It has been estimated that daylight saving time has hurt drive-in business by as much as 25%. As a result, exhibi¬ tors are attempting to elimi¬ nate the threat in local com¬ munities by having daylight time outlawed on a national level. Legion Ys Buzz Round Divorce The Catholic National Legion of Decency during the 'past three weeks has been on . a “B” spree, tagging close to a third of all the pictures it reviewed as “Morally Objectionable In Part for/All.” Recurring theme in Legion ob¬ jections these days is its conten- tention that films reflect- the ac¬ ceptability of divorce. Yet, ap¬ parently there can be exceptions. Reviewing Metro's “Seventh Sin,” and classifying it as A-II (Morally Unobjectionable for. Adults), the Legion noted: - “The principle of divorce as employed in this film is to be consorted in terms of dramatic conflict” Handing a “B” to “Man on Fire,” the'Legion noted: “Although this picture presents some strong in- . dictment against divorce, neverthe¬ less, the solution of the plot tends to negate a positive thesis by rea¬ son of a sympathetic treatment and justification of remarriage.” The Legion—in theory—reviews films for Catholics. However, its ratings do influence some non- Catholics and, in some areas, have^ meaning to the theatreowners. Di¬ vorce is, of course, legal In all states and, while possibly regret¬ ted, is not considered morally rep¬ rehensible by a great many non- Catholics. Nor, with the exception of Roman Catholics, do most people consider remarriage a morally objectionable act. In classifying Elia Kazan’s “Face in the Crowd” as “B,” the Legion, noted that it “reflects the accepta¬ bility of divorce and tends to pre¬ sent the Sacrament of Matrimony as an unqualifiedly carnal relation¬ ship.” The latest Legion ratings show six “B’s” and one condemned film out of a total of 14 reviewed. Dur¬ ing the prior two weeks, 29 pictures were, reviewed of which seven were “B” and one was condemned. Last week, out of the 14 films rated by ,the Legion, only a single one rated a “pure” A-I. It’s noted that United Artists* “Saint Joan,” screen version of the G. B. Shaw play, has been rated A-II (Morally Unobjectionable for Adults) by the Legion. Joan is a Catholic Saint, hut the Shaw play apparently has certain njorally ob¬ jectionable aspects for juveniles. Don’t Make a Move—Without CPA [BOOK ON ‘LOOK, MA, I’M A CORPORATION’] An erudite work titled’ “The Joint Ventures and Tax Classi- cation)) (Federal Legal Publications; $15;, authored by attorney . Joseph Taubman (of the New York bar) is not-as remote from show biz interest as it might indicate. Two chapters alone, one of “Motion Picture Co-Production Deals” and the other on “The¬ atrical Business Organization”, key the special law in both these broad segments. The first of the special amusement industry chapters kicks off with the Variety streamer from Maith 16,1955 titled “Look Ma, I’m A Corporation”, and both segments are loaded with Variety quotes and news reports having to do with joint ventures in pix, legit and allied fields. In this day and age when everything must be drawn up by & lawyer or a tax expert there’s plenty of show biz interest in this work. In fact, with diversification such a popular manifestation within the industry there arc other legal values in this hook (realty, spinoffs, tax exemptions etc.) that will certainly make this a reference work for amusement industry barristers and tax experts. Abel. Amusement Stock Quotations for Week Ending Tuesday: (4)- JV. Y. Stock Exchange (Quotations furnished by Dreyfus & Co.) Can Radio Reminders Get ’fin In? Denver and Rochester Generalized ‘Go to -■ ■ ■ ---- ■ H PAUL REVERE RIDES ANEW Disney Unveils ‘Tremain’ In Revo¬ lution’s Home Town Boston, June 4. Walt Disney Productions‘hosted Huh film critics at luncheon in Hotel Statler for Esther Forbes of nearby Worcester, whose historical novel, “Johnny Tremainserved as basis for the Disney film of the same title. 1 Bob Dorfman, In from New York Disney office, set June 26 for the film’s New England kickoff at the Mayflower, Boston, plus 17 other houses in surrounding area. “Tre¬ main” includes scenes of Boston tea party, Paul Revere’s ride,, and Lexington and Concord battles. Censorship Stays Dead in Oliio State of Ohio is now “safe” ter¬ ritory for the picture business‘for at least another two years. State legislature adjourned last week without any adverse law-making. Manning (Tim) Claffett, state legislative rep for the Motion Pic¬ ture Assn, of America, noted the adjournment means censorship is dead in the state—rdead until a possible revival, at the next session ofjthe Ohio solons beginning in ..January, 1959. While censorship was killed at a previous session, there had been a definite threat of its reinstatement under the influence’ of pro-blue penciling forces. HANK FRIESEN'S^NEW DUTIES Regina, Sask., June 4. Hank Friesen, former theatre manager at Virden, Manitoba, has taken over managership of the Soo, Hi-Art and Two-Lite theatres at Weybura, Saskatchewan, all op¬ erated by Rothstein Enterprises. 1 He succeeds Maynard Gray. Tests Late This Month Movies’ Campaigns * Attempt to raise attendance via a radio campaign will be launched in both Denver and Rochester in, late June. Plan is part of the fflm industry’s business building cam¬ paign under which $5,0Qp has been allocated for the Denver test al6ne. Project was expanded to Roches¬ ter to get a better idea of how po¬ tent radio can be in “selling” the public on the filmgoing habit. If the Denver and Rochester tests prove successful, tie radio campaign will be extended to the entire country for an expenditure that could well hit around $500,000. Campaign on the Denver and Rochester stations will be geared to the “soft sell,’” i.e. there’ll be no attempt to sell individual pic¬ tures as such. Instead, the air spots —to be delivered via the dee jays and other' gabbers—will concen¬ trate on getting the listener out of the house and hack into the “movie habit” which the industry feels has been lost. The Denver and Rochester re¬ sults will he measured against the b.o. level in comparable towns dur¬ ing the campaign to establish whether and to what extent the air drive has been successful. Local managers also will be asked to of¬ fer their opinions re the effective¬ ness of the airspots. * Industryites concerned with the radio “Operation Moviegoing” are frank in admitting that they expect “bonuses” from the cooperating stations. “Why not?” asked one. “If this thing goes over, a lot may be involved for the radio industry.” New Kansas Lady Censor Kansas City, June 4. New member of the Kansas Board of Review, the state censor body, is Mrs. Margaret Gebhart of Banner Springs. Her term runs to March 1, 1960. She replaces Mrs. Frances Ly- saught, who resigned. Cecil B. DeMille gets honorary Doctor of Laws degree at Baylor University, Waco, Texas, on Get* 11 .