Boxoffice-Febuary.14.1948

i
Decision of Supreme Court
Expected About Mid-June
(Continued from preceding pagei
its only assets were used office furniture:
that the company was open to any independent
producer capable of producing good
pictures and willing to risk his own money;
that United Artists had no control over the
way in which these producers want their
pictures sold.
One year United Artists had only four
pictures, he said. Another year it had 2d,
and it usually has from 12 to 15.
"How can we put our pictures on the
auction block?" he asked. "The hardest task
I have had in this case has been to find the
name of United Artists named in the government
brief. Our only attempt to control
admissions is to name the price the exhibitor
wants to charge after 5 o'clock in
individual
contracts."
PROSKAUER IS
IMPRESSIVE
Joseph M. Proskauer, for Warner Bros., was
the last advocate at the Tuesday session. He
has an easy command of English, a fund of
quotations, and an interesting combination
of humor, sarcasm, and emotional emphasis.
His discussion fascinated the courtroom
audience.
"It was the molding of the form of relief
decreed by the lower court that I want
to discuss," he said.
Warner Bros, own three per cent of the
theatres, he said, and takes about eight per
cent of the gross, and "that's not very remarkable."
Warners' acquisition of theatres was "one
of the great epics of the business," he declared.
"It cost $25,000 to install soimd and
no exhibitor was willing to risk it until
Warner Bros, introduced it. It introduced
a new form of competition. Warner Bros,
owned 540 theatres in 1931. Today we have
40 less, while the total of theatres has increased
from 16,000 to 18.000.
FOREIGN INCOME 30 PER CENT
"Thirty per cent of our income is from
foreign trade. "We make no money from
the domestic business. Fourteen per cent of
our income comes from om- own theatres.
25 per cent from affiliated theatres and
the rest from independents we are supposed
to be grinding down. Our customers' prosperity
has increased to a point unheard of
in any other Industry. We cannot be convicted
of collective monopolistic intent.
There is nothing in this case to prove a
purpose of monopoly."
He said that the court's injunction that
distributors would have to own 95 per cent
of each of their theatres in order to retain
them could not be carried out.
Proskauer also argued for the privilege of
block selling, becau.se its prohibition hurt independent
theatres.
THIRD DAY
James F. Byrnes, former secretary of state,
appearing as attorney for 20th Century-Fox,
.said that his company accepted all the injunctions
contained in the three-judge court
decree, but tihat he wanted to object to the
government's plea for divestiture of theatres.
He insisted that the lower court did not rule
that ownership of theatres led to restraint
of trade.
Then he brought up the arbitration system
and quoted statistics of the handling of cases
Before the Court
Counsel for Government
TOM C. CLARK, attorney general.
ROBERT L. WRIGHT, assistant attorney
general, prosecutor for the government.
JOHN F. SONNETT, assistant attorney
general.
chief.
Department of Justice antitrust
Counsel for Industry
JAMES F. BYRNES. 20th Century-Fox
THOMAS TURNER COOKE, Universal
JOHN W. DAVIS, Loew's, Inc.
WILLIAM DONOVAN, RKO Radio
LOUIS D. FROHLICH. Columbia
JOSEPH M. PROSKAUER, Warners
HnDWARD C. RAFTERY. United Artists
WHITNEY NORTH SEYMOUR, Paramount
For Amicus Curiae Petitions
HERMAN LEVY, MPTOA-TOA
ABRAM F. MYERS, Allied States
For Appeal to Intervene
THURMAN ARNOLD, American Theatres
Ass'n
COL. ROBERT JACKSON, and JOHN G.
JACKSON, Confederacy of Southern
Ass'ns
by local arbitrators and the appeals board to
.support his contention that the system had
worked well.
The lower court endorsed arbitration, but
took the stand that it could only recommend
it and not order it.
Justice Frankfiuter interrupted Byrnes to
ask if he took the position bhat the supreme
court had power to order it.
"Yes," replied Byrnes with emphasis. He
quoted authorities to support his statement.
In concluding his argument he said: "No
one can reach the conclusion that the lower
coiut was composed of three wise men."
Assistant Attorney General Robert L.
Wrig'ht began his rebuttal at 1:40 p. m. by
saying: "I want to show wihat actually happened
during the trial and to discuss the
evidence."
the ground that it had enjoined pools in
numerous cities and should have etxended
this injunction to Paramoimt partnersJiips.
He asserted that these were pools in spite
of the fact that the theatres are lofifilly
operated, because, in his opinion, the partners
are under the control of Paramount. Then
he declared that the injunction procedure
would not bind against future cooperation.
His insistence on a ban against cross-licensing
of pictures among the defendants, he
said, was due to a conviction that this would
restore healthy competition In exhibition and
would stimulate production.
Assistant Attorney General John Sonnett,
who is in charge of the antitrust division of
the justice department, confined himself to
a factual recital of the conclusions of the
three-judge court, and again pointed out that
distributor-owned first runs get 45 per cent
of the total film revenue.
Exhibitor Attorneys
To Create TOA Unit
WASHINGTON—A legal advisory council
for the TOA made up of attorneys connected
with a number of regional units and their
legislative agents has been formed for coordinating
the activities of the organization.
Several meetings will be held each year on
call. Industry problems will be raised from
the local level to the national level and vice
versa. The new organization will be a central
clearing house for information and advice.
One of the primary objectives of the new
group will be to create an open forum for
the industry, a project that has been brought
up from time to time during the past two
years. The TOA board will discuss it later
this month.
Details of Ishe new setup were decided upon
at a meeting held in Herman Levy's suite
the Statler hotel on Tuesday, Februarj- 10.
All of those present were in Washington for
the purpose of listening to or participating
in the antitrust case appeal arguments before
the supreme court.
Those present were: Tom Friday, Comerford
circuit attorney; MamT Miller, coimsel
for the TOA New Jersey unit; Lawrence E.
Gordon and BjTon Pollard of the Butterfield
circuit, Michigan; Albert Bernstein, counsel
for the Wometco theatres; Col. Robert Barton,
counsel for the Theatre Owners of Virginia;
Sidney Grossman, MPTO of New York
State; Col. Henry J, Spites, Kentucky Theatre
Owners Ass'n; and PhUip Harland. attorney
for the Fabian theatres.
Large-Screen Tele Sale
To Home User Is Worry
(More Television News on Pages 12-13)
NEW YORK—A new plan to market largescreen
television equipment to clubs, schools,
assembly halls, restaurants and large homes,
in department stores and other retail outlets
is causing concern in exhibitor circles.
Ed Lachman, president of Allied Theatre
Owners of New Jersey, sees this as a new
form of competition to theatres, because it
permits large numbers of potential filmgoers
to find entertainment away from
theatres.
Lachman says the theory that television is
not substantial competition because home
receivers cannot accommodate large crowds
SAYS LOWER COURT ERRED
will not hold water if large-screen equipment
is sold to nontheatrical outlete.
He insisted that the lower court had erred
in failing to order theatre divorcement on Colonial Television Corp. intends to market
its mobile television projector and 7x9
.screen to nontheatrical outlets in Los Angeles,
Cleveland, Philadelphia and New York.
During the week two New York department
stores, A&S in Brooklyn and Bloomingdale's
began selling the Colonial equipment.
The standard retail price is $2,195.
Rental Film Library Plan
To Be Started by MPAA
WASHINGTON—The motion picture industry
for the first time in its history is
making available to public libraries throughout
the nation films which may be loaned
like books to adult education groups, it was
announced this week by Roger Albright, di- (
rector of educational services of the Motion
Picture Ass'n of America. On the library list
is a total of 178 films, carefully selected. j
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BOXOFnCE :: February 14, 1948