Boxoffice-January.07.1950
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PHE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE is presently<br />
disposed to proceed with the hearing<br />
slated for January 17 in the antitrust<br />
suit against the majors. Argument on the<br />
details of divorcement and other questions<br />
left open by last summer's decision is scheduled,<br />
and there is no certainty at this point<br />
that any of the three remaining major defendants<br />
will have retired from the case by<br />
then via the consent decree route.<br />
It now appears to be almost a certainty<br />
that Warner Bros, will be out by then, but<br />
it could take until after the hearing for the<br />
conclusion of the agreement. It now seems<br />
unlikely that 20th Century-Fox will be out of<br />
the case by then, and so far there is no indication<br />
that Loew's will agree to a consent<br />
judgment at all.<br />
Although it is generally thought that the<br />
20th-Fox case can be negotiated to a settlement<br />
out of court and that Loew's will then<br />
try to work out a conclusion, the government<br />
is still working on the theory that the hearing<br />
wiU go on as scheduled. The fact that<br />
the hearing has been held will not affect the<br />
legal position of the two parties in terms of<br />
their right to agree to specific proposals. If<br />
a judgment were to come down from the<br />
court before a consent judgment was signed,<br />
however, the judgment would automatically<br />
be controlling. It generally takes from several<br />
weeks to several months before such<br />
judgment issue, however.<br />
THE SUPREME COURT has been asked<br />
a second time to hear the appeal of Fifth &<br />
Walnut Amusement Co. from the lower court<br />
rejection of its damage suit. The company,<br />
operator of a Louisville theatre, has been rebuffed<br />
in its efforts to have the court accept<br />
the findings and judgments in the New York<br />
suit as prima facie evidence of conspiracy<br />
^eftont<br />
By ALAN HERBERT<br />
by the major companies.<br />
The high court turned down the request<br />
that it take jurisdiction last month, and the<br />
majors hold that there is nothing new in the<br />
case now to cause the court to change its<br />
mind.<br />
Fifth & Walnut argues that the course of<br />
some 93 pending private suits against the<br />
inajors may be greatly affected by what the<br />
high court does in this case.<br />
THE FEDERAL COMMtHVICATIONS<br />
commission refused last week to take emergency<br />
action okaying the transfer of radio<br />
and television properties in Chicago and New<br />
Orleans from Paramount affiliates to the<br />
new United Paramount Theatres. Approval<br />
by the end of the year—or at the least a provision<br />
approval—^had been asked by the company<br />
December 22.<br />
The commission refused to be hurried, however,<br />
and said it would not be hastened simply<br />
to permit Paramount to live up to a time<br />
schedule it had voluntarily set itself. The<br />
stations included the video and FM stations<br />
belonging to Balaban & Katz, in Chicago, and<br />
the AM and PM stations belonging to Paramount-Richards,<br />
in New Orleans.<br />
THE STATUS OF THE CAMERA3IAN in<br />
the United States Capital has advanced another<br />
notch, it appeared this week as the new<br />
house chamber was opened to the public.<br />
For the first time, the house itself is now<br />
the owner of lights adequate for the use of<br />
newsreel, still and television photographers.<br />
A special battery of lights was purchased from<br />
Hollywood supplier Mole-Richardson, and<br />
will be available on call when cameramen<br />
desire to shoot in the house chamber. Until<br />
now they have had to set up their own lighting<br />
each time.<br />
Newsreels, Short Subjects Targets<br />
For Attack by New Jersey Allied<br />
NEW YORK—Newsreels and short subjects<br />
are the targets for a ton of verbal bricks in<br />
the latest bulletin of the New Jersey Allied<br />
unit.<br />
On the newsreels problem, the bulletin says<br />
"At a recent meeting of newsreel men, there<br />
was a great deal of argument against the<br />
tendency of newsreels to propagandize personalities<br />
and individuals for their own<br />
benefits.<br />
"Newsreels, themselves, have become just<br />
another single on your screen and not a good<br />
one. Between newspapers and television, even<br />
pre-release newsreels are now nothing better<br />
than reading last week's papers.<br />
"For many years exhibitors have over-paid<br />
for this six-seven minute subject and it is<br />
about time they either cut the price or cut<br />
them out."<br />
Turning the ammunition toward short subjects,<br />
the bulletin says: "Many companies look<br />
upon short subjects as unwanted children, but<br />
fail to realize that many exhibitors, especially<br />
those with single feature poUcies, look to<br />
short subjects to make a good program just<br />
as a double featme man looks to a second<br />
feature to prop up his show.<br />
"The art of making good two-reelers has<br />
been lost. Comedies, as they are called by the<br />
producers, fail, in most instances, to get a<br />
ripple from the audience. There are a few<br />
good single reels being made, but the majority<br />
seem to be dull, unimaginative, and, in<br />
general, do not help the program."<br />
Report Reynolds Tobacco<br />
Backing Florida Chain<br />
TAMPA—Persistent reports have been cropping<br />
into trade circles in recent weeks that an<br />
important new circuit of Florida theatres,<br />
financed by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.<br />
of Winston-Salem, N. C., will come into being<br />
in 1950. The press here has been quoting<br />
"unusually reliable" sources in Miami. The<br />
published report indicated the circuit was<br />
planning to build in Orlando, Miami, St.<br />
Petersburg, Jacksonville, Palm Beach, St.<br />
Augustine, Daytona Beach and Tampa.<br />
Arnall May Run Again<br />
For Governorship<br />
NEW YORK—The industry will<br />
watch few<br />
of this year's political campaigns more closely,<br />
at least in their early stages, than that<br />
for governor of Georgia. The reason is that<br />
Ellis Arnall, president of SIMPP, is believed<br />
by many observers to be planning to run<br />
against young Herman Talmadge, present<br />
incumbent and son of Gene Talmadge, whom<br />
Arnall defeated. That would mean his resignation<br />
from SIMPP of which he has been<br />
a vocal and successful representative.<br />
Newspaper "dope" stories have had Arnall<br />
interested in regaining the governorship.<br />
The latest apparent confirmation of his interest<br />
came the other day when Arnall asked<br />
Eugene Cook, state attorney general, for an<br />
opinion on his eligibility to run this year.<br />
Arnall particularly wanted to know if he is<br />
disqualified because dm-ing his dispute with<br />
Herman Talmadge after the election, he<br />
stayed in office five days beyond his allotted<br />
time.<br />
BOXOFPICE recently asked the ex-governor<br />
of Georgia if he would run again.<br />
Arnall laughed and replied : "If I intended to,<br />
I wouldn't tell you, and if I didn't intend to,<br />
I wouldn't, either. Anyway, the election isn't<br />
until fall."<br />
The industry's attitude toward Arnall is<br />
mixed. He has been active in instituting<br />
legal action in behalf of SIMPP, which has<br />
considered him a valuable representative of<br />
its interests. Others have criticized Arnall<br />
for public statements considered harmful in<br />
a public relations way.<br />
Ai-nall has replied, in<br />
effect: "In this industry, as in any other,<br />
you have to raise your voice to be heard."<br />
Emma Cox of Arkansas,<br />
Exhibitor Leader, Dies<br />
OSCEOLA, ARK.—Emma Cox, a onetime<br />
bank cashier, who took over a theatre with<br />
$60 in cash and indefatigable energy and became<br />
one of the state's best-known exhibitors,<br />
died here this week. She owned and operated<br />
the Gem and Joy theatres and was a<br />
director of the Tri-States Theatre Owners<br />
Ass'n.<br />
In the 1930s, while working in a bank she<br />
was asked to assume management of the Gem<br />
Theatre when the owner defaulted on a $1,000<br />
note. She did, but the bank also went broke<br />
and she bought the theatre with her small<br />
savings. She had the theatre running profitably<br />
in no time and then added the Joy Theatre<br />
to her holdings.<br />
As an exhibitor and civic leader, she was<br />
extremely popular in the community. St.<br />
Matthews CathoUc church was too small to<br />
accommodate the crowd for the funeral and<br />
a special altar was erected in the Gem Theatre<br />
for the services.<br />
Albert Gebhart, 63, Dies;<br />
Was N. J. Allied Secretary<br />
EAST ORANGE, N. J.—Albert Gebhart,<br />
63, executive secretary of Allied Theatre<br />
Owners of New Jersey, collapsed on the street<br />
here Wednesday (4) and died en route to the<br />
hospital. His home was in Sparta, N. J.<br />
Gebhart was salesman for Paramovmt in<br />
New Jersey for 26 years. He resigned two<br />
years ago to join Allied. He is survived by<br />
his wife, Bonnie Bell, and a son, George N.<br />
Gebhart.<br />
16 BOXOFFICE January 7, 1950