Boxoffice-Febuary.07.1948

MGM Cutting Sharply
On Production Costs
NEW YORK—The cost of pictures now
being made by Loew's. Inc., iMGM) will be
substantially lower because of economies put
into effect throughout the company and because
of faster production, according to J.
Robert Rubin, vice-president and general
counsel. Rubin made this statement at a
recent meeting of the stockholders. They had
previously heard Charles C. Moskowitz, vicepresident
and treasurer, say that "a substantial
number of employes had been dismissed
as an economy measure."
Rubin then went on to say that company
earnings for the first eight weeks of the
second quarter of the current fiscal year show
an improvement over earnings in the first
quarter.
DIVIDENDS PAID REGULARLY
In reply to questions by stockholders about
the dividend outlook, Rubin reviewed the
financial record of the company. He said
that since it was founded "we have had no
year in which the operations did not show a
profit.
"We have paid without interruption regular
quarterly dividends from December 1923
up to the present, and frequently in addition
to regular dividends, extras were paid."
He pointed out that dividends were maintained
even after the 1929 crash and the depression
years that followed. During that
period stockholders received a total of
$117,000,000.
He added that the board of directors has
been inclined to pay dividends when it could.
"I have canvassed them for the usual March
31 dividend and I find them unanimously
agreeable to its declaration."
The directors declared a quarterly dividend
of 31 M cents per share on the company's
common stock, payable March 31 to stockholders
of record March 12.
STOCK VALUE $28 A SHARE
The book value of Loew's stock is $28 a
share, according to Rubin.
All members of the board of directors were
re-elected at the last meeting.
The board consists of Nicholas M. Schenck,
president: Joseph R. Vogel, vice-president:
WUliam F. Rodgers. vice-president and general
sales manager: Rubin: Moskowitz: Leopold
Friedman, vice-president and secretary:
David Warfield. William A. Parker, Henry
Rogers Winthrop and Eugene W. Leake.
Two new directors were eleced. They are:
Louis K. Sidney, a member of the executive
council of the MGM studios, and Joseph J.
Cohn, MGM executive producer.
'BF's Daughter' Scheduled
For MGM Tradeshow
NEW YORK—MGM will tradeshow "B.F.'s
Daughter." starring Barbara Stanwyck, in
New York and Los Ajigeles February 16, and
It will be tradeshown in other key cities February
17. The picture will be generally released
the last week in March in lieu of
The Bride Goes Wild," originally scheduled
for that week. "Bride" will not be released
until after "The State of the Union,"
which is to have summer showings.
Set Tlobm Hood' Reissue
NEW YORK—Warners will reissue "The
Adventures of Robin Hood," Technicolor production
starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de
Havilland, March 13. The film was directed
by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley.
Large-Screen Televisior)
Set for 4 Key Cities
NEW YORK — Twenty-three theatres in
four key cities. New York, Chicago, Cleveland
and Los Angeles, are scheduled to carry out
experimental showings of large-screen television
units designed by the Colonial Television
Corp. This is the same company that
installed the large-screen receiver-projector
in the Pantages Theatre, Hollywood.
An official of Colonial said that within
the next few weeks the sets will be instaOed
in six New York theatres, four Chicago theatres,
eight Cleveland theatres and five Los
Angeles theatres.
Although the Colonial official refused to
name the theatres or circuits involved, it has
been confirmed that RKO executives in New
York have attended demonstrations of the
Colonial system and discussed installations
for circuit houses in New York.
J. Robert Rubin, vice-president of Loew's,
made it clear recently that his company
doesn't intend to be left behind when theatre
television gets going commercially. To date
Loew's hasn't decided which theatre television
system will use in circuit houses. A
it
Loew's management committee is studying
aU systems now being demonstrated.
Colonial has been negotiating with theatre
operators throughout the west, midwest and
east ever since their set was used to televise
the Rose Bowl football game New Year's day
in Los Angeles.
The set used at that time was an RCA
receiver with a voltage tube stepped up to
30.000 volts by booster transformers. In front
of the tube was a Bausch & Lomb projection
lens.
The model inspected by RKO executives is
similar and is mounted on wheels.
The sets can project an 8x10 or 9xl2-foot
image.
Cost of the unit is $2,195, plus $150 for
installation.
Harry Brandt, president of the Brandt
Theatres, said that he is planning to use
large-screen television in his theatres, but
it will not be the Colonial system.
Meanwhile Paramount is awaiting the supreme
court decision on the antitrust decree
before going ahead with its system for filming
events directly from a television receiver.
Paramount started demonstrating this system
at the Paramount Theatre, New York,
last
year.
Colonial also has demonstrated its theatre
television system at the 750-seat Pickfalr
Theatre in Los Angeles for members of the
Southern California Theatre Owners Ass'n.
Loren Ryder, president of the Society of
Motion Picture Engineers, has warned exhibitors
against rushing into theatre television
until they can be sure that the quality of
the screen television image compares favorably
writh the television image on home
receivers.
ABC to Start Television
Operation in September
NEW YORK—The American Broadcasting
Co. will start television broadcasting next
September, according to Mark Woods, president
of the network. The company plans
to have five television stations operating by
the end of the year in Chicago, Detroit, New
York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Coaxial cables are expected to link San
Francisco and Los Angeles and Chicago and
Detroit by the end of this year. The ABC
New York station will be linked with Washington,
Baltimore and Philadelphia stations.
This would give the network three regional
television networks, the first steps to national
network, Woods said.
The Chicago station, to be called WENR,
probably will be the first on the air. It is set
to start operating in September.
Argentine Exhibitors Protest Ban
On Showing of Foreign Product
NEW YORK—The ban on the showing of
foreign films in Argentina is not directed at
the American film industry but was brought
on by a dispute with Spain over the high
taxes imposed on Argentine features sent to
that country, according to Joaquin Rickard,
MPAA Latin American representative.
Representatives of the American companies
in Buenos Aires and spokesmen for the 1,800
Argentine exhibitors have protested the ban
and asked the Argentine government to take
steps to bring about the resumption of showings
for the Argentine Bureau of Public
Shows, which must review and approve each
new foreign film before it can be publicly
exhibited.
Last year, the censorship committee
stopped reviewing Russian pictures.
Argentine exhibitors rely heavily on foreign
product because native studios cannot supply
enough features. The stoppage, however, affects
other countries more sharply than
Spain, which sent only 16 films to Argentina
in 1946. In the same year, the United States
sent 314 films to that country, Mexico sent
51, France 24, Britain 14, Chile 5, Switzerland
and Italy 2 each and Brazil 1. The
major American companies have a backlog
of about 12 pictures which had been scheduled
for review.
Tills ban is the second government restriction
affecting U.S. film companies in less than
a year. Five months ago, film remittances
were frozen to conserve the Argentine supply
of
dollars.
'Unconquered' Scales Drop
To Normal Level in April
NEW YORK—Paramount will release Cecil
B. DeMille's "Unconquered" in April at regular
admission prices, according to Charles M.
Reagan, vice-president in charge of distribution.
Three hundred advanced admission
dates remain, and these will be completed
by the end of the month.
BOXOFTICE : : February 7, 1948
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