Boxoffice-January.07.1950

Victory by Australian Liberals May
Prove Boon to Film Trade
By WILLIAM BEECHAM
Australian Representative, Boxoffice
PERTH, W. A.—The sweeping victory of
the combined Liberal and Country parties in
the recent Australian federal elections shows
that the general public has had its fill of
bureaucratic controls. The new prime minister
recently said "Many have been feeling
that if the national income were good, it
would not be a bad idea to be allowed to enjoy
it without government obstruction."
There is little doubt that, as soon as the new
government gets settled, the film industry
will do its utmost to secure several changes.
In the first place, it is almost certain that
another attempt will be made to secure reductions
in the entertainment tax, particularly
on the cheaper seats. Indeed, the feeling
throughout the industry is that the tax
on the cheaper seats should be withdrawn
entirely. But just what the new government's
attitude toward the entertainment
tax and its application to the film industry
is, remains to be seen.
Interests with American affiliations will,
no doubt, seek some relief in the matter of
frozen funds. The prime minister has said
that closer ties with the United States are
necessary and this will probably be interpreted
by some to mean that funds earned
in Australia by Anaerican concerns should be-
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come available to them. Efforts undoubtedly
will be made by the government to secure
more dollars, but these will in all probability
be made available for such things as tractors,
chemicals and heavy machinery. However,
it is practically certain that every encouragement
will be given to American concerns
to invest their money in Australia, and more
sympathetic consideration to their problems
is
likely.
Little alteration is expected in regard to
the encouragement of the local film producing
industry, although some people are optimistic
enough to hope that customs duties on
necessary equipment may be cut. Certainly
investors' money will be much easier.
With the setting in of summer weather,
film exhibitors in many parts are beginning
to find that outside attractions are cutting
heavily into boxoffice receipts. In Western
Australia the open air cinemas have been
opened, but even there such counter attractions
as night trotting, night motorcycle racing,
and circuses—during the last year or
so more ten shows have visited western Australia
than ever before—and the many attractions
which other business interests are
putting up are making the going somewhat
tough.
In some parts leading oil companies are
offering free shows, often with free refreshments.
Community Center activities, with
picture shows, dances, stage shows and the
like, also are taking toll of the cinema business.
In Perth a new ice skating rink has
been opened on a three-shows-a-day basis
and a pantomime tent show plus a two-ring
circus were advertised for the Christmas
season.
• • •
Poor cinema programs today draw exceedingly
poor business. What is worse, they
only too often affect future business. In
many country centers exhibitors complain
that certain popular radio programs cut
heavily into business week after week, and
despite much that has been written regarding
the matter of television not affecting the
cinema, many a manager feels more than
uncertain regarding the future.
The accounts of J. C. Williamson for the
financial year July 1, 1948, to June 30, 1949,
disclose a net profit of £43,023, compared
with the £38,055 of the previous 12 months.
The ordinary dividend of 6 per cent is supplemented
by a dividend of £2 18s. 9d. from
taxfree reserve accounts arising from profits
for the year July 1, 1943, to June 30, 1944.
More than 1.300 orphans recently were entertained
by the management of the Ambassadors
Theatre, Perth, where they enjoyed
a program of cartoons and received ice
cream, sweets and comic papers.
An Australian patent is being sought by A.
Harmour and C. Heath of New South Wales,
for a cinema projector, details of the application
I No. 131,287) being: "To enable a film
to remain stationary in a projector aperture
for a longer period and, during the period of
movement, to travel so much faster that the
actual rate of travel of the film through the
FOOD FOR YULE BASKETS—More
than 24,000 tins of canned food were collected
by the Broadway Theatre in Portland,
Ore. Sponsored by the Sunshine
division of the Portland police bureau,
the effort provided canned goods which
was used to fill more than 1,500 baskets
for distribution to needy fajnilies. The
activity is an annual event sponsored by
Mrs. J. J. Parker, president of the J. J.
Parker circuit, in cooperation with the
Portland Oregonian. In the accompanying
picture, two-year-old Joseph Ingher
hands a can of food to Capt. Harry A.
Circle of the Sunshine division.
projector remains unaltered, the intermittent
motion mechanism including a disc wheel
with radial slots, and the periphery between
slots concaved is characterized in that the
radius of the arc of the flare at the entrance
of the said slots corresponds to the radius
of travel of the crank pin."
Herschel Stuart, a director of Hoyts Theatres
and for the last year an inmate of a
private hospital in Sydney, recently returned
to his home in the United States. He leaves
a very wide circle of friends in Australia.
Producers Arm to Fight
Antisweets Campaign
HOLLYWOOD — Exliibitors, as well as
candy, soft dnnk and confectionery interests,
may well become somewhat unhappy if tiie
campaign is successful. Therefore the studio
publicity directors' committee of the Ass'n of
Motion Picture Producers has apprised studio
dnimbeaters of the tactics being employed
by southland dentists participating in an
American Dental Ass'n drive to "educate"
children against consuming candy and pop
on the gi-ounds they are injurious to the
teeth.
Ai-ch Reeve, who heads the AMPP's publicity
directors' committee, disclosed that
dentists in this area have approached their
film star clients with requests to make recordings
and to participate in a west coast
broadcast, slated for early in February, to
urge children to pass up candy.
Accordingly, film publicists have been
alerted and advised to take w-hatever action,
if any, they deem necessarj- if the ADA campaign
is to be combated. An AMPP memo
to studio publicity directors cautions that
filmdom "should avoid putting itself in the
position of undermining other great industries,"
cautioning that theatre profits from
the sale of such confections are high, and
warning that "there may be repercussions
from theatres on stars participating."
46-D BOXOFFICE January 7, 1950