TOTAL

%e« ^^ S^^^^^tt^
Hughes and Odium
JJOWARD HUGHES and Floyd Odium
were not strangers when they began
negotiations for the transfer of 928,000
shares of RKO from Atlas Corp. to Hughes.
Their business paths had crossed and recrossed
many times in recent years. They
understood each other so well that Odium
told Hughes last February that he valued
his RKO holdings at $8,000,000 and was
willing to sell. This is understood to be
the price that Hughes finally paid.
During the progress of the negotiations
Robert R. Young, who controls Pathe Industries
and Eagle Lion, also made an offer,
and N. Peter Rathvon tried to organize a
banking syndicate to take over the stock.
Hughes and Odium are both keenly interested
in aviation. Hughes, as is well
known, controls TWA and has other plane
holdings. Atlas controls Northeast Airlines,
Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corp.
and others. Both have widespread oil interests.
Odium for investments through
Atlas: Hughes, because he owns the Hughes
Tool Co. which drills oil wells.
Each plays hunches shrewdly and acts
swiftly without consulting banking syndicates.
They take losses occasionally, but
they have a happy faculty for coming out
with profits more often than with deficits.
Because Hughes has an intense personal
.nterest in films, it is expected that he will
have much closer contacts with the RKO
studio than did Odium, who devoted himself
largely to corporate and financing
problems.
Paramount Guessed Right
H QUICK guess can be as profitable as
a royal flush in a six-handed poker
game when everybody is betting. Back in
the prewar days when television was fnostly
conversation Paramount made a loan to
Allen B. Du Mont Laboratories, Inc., and
converted the loan into stock. It wanted
some television equipment for experimental
purposes.
Along came the war. What with radar
and all the other radio equipment the
armed services needed Du Mont prospered
beyond the wildest dreams of its founders.
Now Paramount is willing to sell its share
for $10,000,000 and Allen Du Mont is willing
to pay $6,000,000.
Paramount Conservatism
DARAMOUNT's corporate policies have
been operated so conservatively during
the past few years that the company can
now absorb almost any kind of a shock
without noticeable jar.
Estimated earnings, after all charges
including taxes, for the first three months
of 1948 are $7,760,000. At first glance this
seems to be $1,762,000 below the same
period for 1947. A little additional reading
discloses that Paramount is not now
reporting any foreign profit until they are
actually received in dollars.
In the same earnings statement it is
shown that there are now 6,987,039 shares
of stock outstanding. This is lower by
By JAMES M. JERAULD
316,933 shares than for the same period
a year ago.
Paramount has been quietly acquiring its
own stock and putting it in the treasury
since the three-judge court in the antitrust
case laid down its 95-5 rule for ownership
of theatres. It intended to use this
stock for theatre purchases where necessary
to protect its showcases. It may have
to revamp its approach to the theatreowning
problem as a result of the supreme
court decision, but the stock is there just
in
case.
Checking Cases Gain
T AST week more than 250 checking cases
were pending in courts in all exchange
areas The total is rising rapidly. If an
appeals court upholds the Boston award
for damages on flat rental as well as percentage
pictures, there may be an even
greater increase.
A remarkable business—films! Exhibitors,
distributors and the government all
suing at the same time for various reasons,
with all the costs added to film
rentals.
Rioting Pickets
COME student of human behavior may be
able to understand why young men and
women take chances on broken skulls,
scalp wounds, six or eight days in jail before
trial, and then fines for disorderly
conduct, but it's a mystery to ordinary
mortals.
The Daily Worker, the council for Soviet-
American Friendship and a few other
groups practically incited riots in front of
the Roxy by threatening picketing and
52 Years a Showman:
Still Has New Ideas
DuBois, Pa.—In his 52nd year In show
business, and at an age when most men
are at least considering the pleasures of
retirement, Albert P. Way, dean of showmen,
is striking out in new fields in the
entertainment world. He's going to open
an outdoor theatre.
The fast-moving world, on wheels, has
created a demand for this modern theatre,
according to the pioneer exhibitor
and former legislator. In Florida during
the spring months he visited various
drive-in theatres, witnessed the families
comfortably dressed, but not dressed up,
coming to the auto parks, appreciated
their enjoyment of the entertainment offered,
and determined to investigate the
possibility of an open air theatre in the
DuBois area.
He has taken options on several properties
near here and his tentative plans
are drawn. This week he is on a fishing
trip in Potter county and is making his
selection and final decision. Way owns
and operates the Avenue and Carlton
theatres here.
The plan was so stupid the lead-
boycotts.
ers didn't bother to find out that "The
Iron Curtain" would not open until the
following day.
Most of the rioters arrived from a Wallace
meeting at Madison Square Garden
and found mounted police, foot police and
detectives there in force They rioted anyway.
The next day a lot of them wondered
why. All they had accomplished was a
boost in the Roxy gross.
Roadshows by Leasing
^AN a picture be roadshown at advanced
prices by leasing a theatre on a percentage
basis?
Anybody who wants to hear both sides
of the question can get them by querying
lawyers in the antitrust case.
Some lawyers contend there is nothing
in the supreme court decision to prevent
a distributor from leasing a theatre to show
a roadshow film. Some can't see the difference
between leasing a theatre from an
owner and leasing a film to an owner, so
long as the net result is a percentage split
at advanced admissions.
Film prices can't be fixed in a film lease
contract, say some of the legal lights, but
they don't have to be fixed if the distributor
leases the theatre. He can decide his
own rates.
A court ruling on this may be necessary
sooner or later.
TOA Legal Advisory Group
To Meet With Directors
NEW YORK—A meeting of the legal advisory
council of the TOA, which was formed
several weeks ago while the antitrust case
was being heard by the supreme court will
be held early in the summer at the time the
board of directors goes into session.
Counsel for all state and regional member
associations and for theatre circuits have been
invited to join the advisory group. Those who
have already accepted are: Byron L. Ballard,
Lansing, Mich.: Col. Robert T. Barton, Richmond;
Albert B. Bernstein, Miami: H. E.
Buchanan, Hendersonville, N. C: Tom Friday,
Scranton; Lawrence E. Gordon. Detroit:
Sidney Grossman, Syracuse; L. S. Hamm, San
Francisco; Philip Harling, New York City:
Fred H. Kent, Jacksonville: Ben Kohler jr..
Atlanta: Maury MUler, Passaic: Leonard L,
Rosenthal, Albany, and Col. Henry J. Stites,
Louisville.
Colosseum Membership
To Sales Managers
NEW YORK—Branch sales managers may
belong to the Colosseum of Motion Picture
Salesmen, although they will not be given
bargaining rights. Representatives of the
distributors and the National Labor Relations
board agree this will permit A. W.
Van Dyck, 20th Century-Fox branch sales
manager in Chicago, to continue as president
of the proposed salesmen's union.
Attorneys for the distributors and David
Beznor, Colosseum attorney, conferred at the
NLRB office here early in the week to discuss
balloting procedure whereby approximately
1,000 film salesmen will vote on
whether they want the union to represent
them. The NLRB office in Washington has
ruled that the votes must be tallied by company.
To date the union has lined up 880
salesmen and 30 branch sales managers.
16 BOXOFHCE :
: May
22, li»4«