PONDERS TAFT-HARTLEY WAL

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BIG 5 IN LAST-MINUTE RUSH
TO END POOLS BEFORE JULY ]
Majority of Agreements
Ended to Comply With
Terms of N.Y. Decree
NEW YORK—The five theatre-owninii:
defendants rushed last-minute negotia-
>lons to meet the July 1 deadline fixed by
the New York statutory court for the dissolution
of pools.
Most of the pools have already been
ended in accordance with the previsions of
the antitrust decree. The few still in effect
will be severed over the weekend.
These Include Warners' pool with Rapf
& Ruden covering Warners Claridge Theatre,
Montclalr, and Rapf & Rudens Bellevue
Theatre. Upper Montclair, N. J.
ENDING SKOURAS POOL
RKO expected to end pools by the weekend,
including a New York pool with Skoura.s
Theatres; a pool in Grand Rapids with the
Butterfleld circuit, and a pool in Los Angeles
with Rodney Pantages. Malcolm Kingsberg,
president of RKO Theatres, worked
on these negotiations almost to the deadline.
Loew's also was ru.shing through the dissolution
of a pool with Skouras in New York
City. This covered the Astoria and Triboro
Theatres, Astoria.
The dissolution of pools has been going
on for nearly six months. During this
period Paramount and National Theatres
ended a pool in San Francisco, while National
Theatres also dis.solved pools in Kansas
City, Denver, Los Angeles and in Arizona.
Warners ended pools with Paramount in
Philadelphia: in Albany with Fabian; in
Brooklyn with Fabian, and in Pittsburgh with
Loew's.
Loew's In the meantime has ended pools
with Fabian In Richmond, Norfolk and
Pittsburgh.
Paramount has reported that all its pools
throughout the coun'.ry will be dissolved prior
to the July 1 deadline.
On the west coast Fox West Coast Theatres,
western unit of National Theatres, has
completed its mopping up operations as concerns
the transfer in management of heretofore
pooled houses and in keeping with the
federal court decree in the antitrust suits.
FWC RETURNING HOUSES
Ten houses In California were turned over
to former partners and three more will be
similarly transferred by July 1. Simultaneously,
the circuit reassumed total management
of a quintet of showcases.
The ten theatres In the most recent switch
are the Lclmert and United Artists, Los Angeles;
RIalto. San Francisco: Alhambra.
Sacramento; California, Ontario: Nile.
Bakersfleld; Aztec, Ml.ssion and Plaza. San
Dlcgo, and the Golden Stale, Riverside. Before
July 1 the Garfield, Alhambra: Orpheum,
Yuma, and Alto, Los Angeles; will
be transferred.
These are in addition to five theatres
turned over to partners on previous dates and
Including the Paramount, State and St.
Francis. San Francisco; RItz, South Pasadena,
and Lyric, Monrovia.
The five houses which FWC takes over
are Nevada, Reno; Fox and Fltz, Hanford;
Ohio Girds for Tax Fight
As Cities Talk New Levies
COLUMBUS—Ohio exhibitors face a
fight to prevent individual municipalities
from enacting high local amusement taxes
now that Gov. Thomas J. Herbert has
signed the bill repealing the state's three
per cent tax and leaving the field of ticket
levies open to Ohio cities.
There is every indication that exhibitors
are ready to make the fight. In Cleveland
and in Aki-on Harry Goldberg of
Warners has conducted meetings to organize
motion picture theatre owners into
vigilante groups to combat the anticipated
onrush of local amusement taxes. Whereever
city councils plan to enact tax measures,
the exhibitors will step in, it was announced
at these meetings.
In Cincinnati, the council is ready to levy
an admissions tax. City Manager Kellogg
was quoted as saying that the levy on amusements
will not vary greatly from the three
per cent state levy. However, in Youngstown,
Councilman John Barber called upon
the mayor to introduce an ordinance setting
the tax at 10 per cent, a figure which
he said was being considered by a number
of other Ohio cities. Such a levy would bring
in about a quarter million dollar-> a year to
Youngstown, Barber said.
PLANNING LOCAL TAXES
Cleveland, Columbus and Lima are among
the cities planning to enact ticket levies.
Only city in which there has been definite
action against a local amusement tax is
Toledo. Here a proposal calling for a tax
survey was defeated, a step which was interpreted
as killing the possibility of a local
tax this year.
All In all, exhibitors anticipate some good
local level fights, and they point to what
exhibitors elsewhere may expect when a state
tax Is dropped and local taxing bodies are
given authority to impose their own ticket
levies.
Meanwhile, Pete J. Wood, ITO secretary
In a bulletin addressed to the presidents and
general sales managers of producing companies
declared that the organization's campaign
to prevent repeal of the state 3 per
cent tax was materially weakened by the
Increased number of road shows at increased
admission prices.
Wood said that exhibitors went before
the legi.slature with a strong argument that
theatres could not absorb more than the
3 per cent tax and that anything over that
Fox and Hyde, Vlsalia. This quintet Is to
be rehabilitated, Skouras sa.vs, in which connection
the circuit chief has sent R. H.
McCullough and Elmer Hanks to the three
northern California cities to work with Dick
Spier, division manager, on plans for refurbishing.
In some cases where delays have occurred,
the lawyers for the Big Five have attributed
amount would have to be passed on to t
pubhc. Falling grosses and reduced i
tendance were cited. But, he added, i
nouncements of road shows at double avr
age admissions gave legislators their bearb
ammunition to refute the contention tbi!
the public would not support higher adm
sions.
"As one of the leaders of this busine'
and whether or not your company open'
theatres in Ohio or elsewhere, you tuTt
grave responsibility to see that nothicg
now done which gives to city officials a
excuse for imposing local taxes at high r»i
as this will result in diminishing returns
both the theatres involved and to your ca
pany as a distributor of pictures.
CITES ROADSHOW DANGERS
"We have been tr>ing to sell the put
on the idea that motion pictures are the <
tertainment for the masses, but with (
pictures— ("Henry V." "Best Years ot C
Lives," "Duel in the Sun," "Forever Arab
and "Captain From Castile"i—circulat
tliroughout the country in small, medium a
large towns at a minimum admission pt>,
of around Si. 50. we face the danger of be
continued in the "luxury" class and giv
the Congress the ammunition to back
the contention for a continuation of the
per cent federal tax. and money-himgr)
ficials the excuse to impose high local adn
sion taxes.
"You have a vital interest In this mat
You can help by discouraging as far as i
sible the prerelease of pictures at hig
than regular admission prices."
Glenn Norris Takes Over.
20th-Fox Atlantic Post
NEW YORK — Glenn Norri.s fom.
branch manager for 20th-Fox m \Vashin>:
D. C, has been promoted to Atlantic
trict manager by Andrew W. Smith Jr, £
eral sales manager. Norris, who succi
Sam Gross, killed in a plane crash June
will headquarter in Washington. HU I
trict comprises that city in addition to Ph
delphia and Pittsburgh.
Norris came to Fox as a poster cler>
1928 and was transferred to Washlngun
salesman In 193". He became branch ff
ager in 1946.
Gordon Contee, sales manager Ui
Washington branch, succeeds Norris
i
branch manager there.
them to doubtful situations. By this M
meant Joint operating agreements covei r
noncompeting theatres.
The lawyers do not think these sltualll
can be called pools. The departmenii
J
justice, on the other hand, wUl chalk]
the exhibitor-defendants if they fall to
solve these agreements.
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BOXOFFICE
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June
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