Boxoffice-March.26.1949

UA Lines Up 10 Features
For April-August Release
NEW YORK—Including two pictures set for
April release and two ready for May, United
Artists has ten completed pictures delivered
by independent producers during the past
six weeks. The advertising, publicity and exploitation
departments are working on these
pictures which will be released before the
start of the 1949-50 season.
The April releases are: •'Impact," a Harry
Popkin production starring Brian Donlevy,
Ella Raines and Helen Walker, and "The
Crooked Way," a Benedict Bogeaus production
starring John Payne, Ellen Drew and
Sonny Tufts. The May releases are "Champion,"
the Stanley Kramer production starring
Kirk Douglas and Marilyn Maxwell,
which is getting a $500,000 ad campaign, and
"Outpost in Morocco," Sam Bischoff production
starring George Raft with Marie Windsor
and Akim Tamiroff.
THE FIVE MONTHS' LINEUP
For release during June, July and August
are: "Too Late for Tears," Hunt Stromberg
production starring Lizabeth Scott, Dan
Duryea and Don DeFore; "Black Magic,"
Edward Small production starring Orson
Welles and Nancy Guild; "Africa Screams,"
Nassour Brcs. production starring Abbott and
Costello with Frank Buck and Clyde Beatty:
"Love Happy," Lester Cowan production starring
the Marx Brothers with Marion Hutton
and Ilona Massey; "The Great Dan Patch,"
W. R. Frank production starring Dennis
O'Keefe and Gail Russell, and "The Gay
Amigo," second Cisco Kid picture starring
Duncan Renaldo and Leo Carrillo.
Also completed but not yet delivered are:
"Twilight," Robert and Raymond Hakim production
starring Laraine Day, Dane Clark
and Franchot Tone; "Indian Scout," Edward
Small production starring George Montgomery
and Ellen Drew, and "Daring Caballero,"
a third Cisco Kid western. "Home of the
Brave," a Stanley Kramer production with
James Edwards, and "Red Light." Roy Dei
Ruth production starring George Raft and
Virginia Mayo, are now in work.
THREE NOW BEING LENSED
The only pictures ready for filming during
the next few weeks are "Quicksand,"
Rooney-Stiefel production; "Mrs. Mike." Sam
Bischoff production, and "Runaway," Paul
Henreid production.
In addition, United Artists has several other
films in release which have had few key city
bookings to date. They are: "Don't Trust
Your Husband," which had a few first run
dates under its original title, "An Innocent
Affair," "High Fury," a British-made release
under the Buddy Rogers-Ralph Cohn
label; "Just William's Luck," another British-made:
"Siren of Atlantis," Seymour Nebenzal
production; "Jigsaw," Danziger-Tower
film, and "The Valiant Hombre," first Cisco
Kid western. Except for the first-named,
none of these have played in New York City.
'Night' Tradeshow Date
NEW YORK—Warner Bros, will tradeshow
"Night Unto Night," starring Ronald Reagan
and Viveca Lindfors, April 18. It will be released
the week of May 14.
No Interest in UA Buy,
Says Edward Nassour
New York—Edward Nassour, who owns
Nassour studios in Hollywood with his
brother, William, scoffed at reports that
he was here to discuss a possible purchase
of United Artists control from
Mary Pickford and Charles Chaplin.
Every film industry' figure who wants
some publicity claims he is "interested in
buying United Artists," Nassour said.
Nassour is a cousin of James E. and
George Nasser, producers and owners
of the General Service studio and operators
of the Nasser Bros, circuit in California,
whose financial representative,
Sam Wiesenthal, is in New York to discuss
current condition of UA with Gradwell
L. Sears, president.
RKO Sues UAio Stop
'Champion' Release
HOLLYWOOD—Seeking general damages
of $500,000 and an injunction to prevent the
distribution of "Champion," produced by
Screen Plays, Inc., for United Artists release,
RKO Radio filed a federal court action
charging infringement of copyright on the
grounds that certain sequences in "Champion"
are similar to scenes in RKO's prize
fight opus, "The Set-Up."
Named as defendants are Screen Plays,
Inc., UA, Mark Robson, who directed "Champion,"
and several John Does.
The complaint charges that "Champion"—
which is based on a story by the late Ring
Lardner—was "copied largely from and based
upon" RKO's Robert Ryan starrer. Neither
film has yet gone into release.
Federal Judge Campbell E. Beaumont set
April 4 as the date for oral argument on
RKO's request for an injunction. "Champion"
is slated for its world premiere in New
York April 9.
Stanley Kramer, president of Screen Plays,
contended the RKO charges are "entirely
unfounded" and that his organization did
not "propose to change a single frame in the
film." The Kramer declaration came in response
to a letter received by him from Gordon
Youngman, RKO vice-president, notifying
Kramer that RKO planned to seek an injunction
against the distribution of "Champion."
Any infringement on "The Set-Up" was
also emphatically denied by Samuel S. Zagon,
Screen Plays' counsel.
Kramer described RKO's "unwarranted
stand" as "nothing more than an effort by
a wealthy and powerful major studio to impose
its might and will on an independent of
limited resources . . . This will establish a
pattern for just how hard an independent is
willing to fight to insure his dignity, integrity
and independence."
Schine to Exchange
Proposals April 1
NEW YORK—The Schine and Department
of Justice lawyers will exchange rough drafts
for a proposed consent decree on or about
April 1. They will then work on final proposals
to be submitted to Judge Knight of
the U.S. court for the Buffalo area April 18.
The proposals were discussed in Washington
March 22 based on the tentative agreement
reached between the Justice department
and the circuit lawyers last week after several
months of negotiations.
Considerable progress has been made
toward an agreement covering the number
of theatres Schine must drop. The circuit
operates more than 180 theatres in New
York, Ohio, Kentucky, Delaware and Maryland.
is
It reported that theatres will be
dropped in approximately 38 cities and towns
in which Schine has complete monopoly
(closed towns i or a dominating position.
Although little has been said about injunctive
trade provisions for the forthcoming consent
decree, attorneys for both sides expect
to be guided by the Paramount case decisions
and recent RKO and Paramount consent decrees.
The recently signed Paramount decree prohibits
formula deals, master agreements, price
fixing, profit sharing agreements and pools.
It prohibits film buying for theatres in which
the defendant does not have an interest.
G&P Amusement Co. Files
$525,000 Antitrust Suit
CLEVELAND—A buying and booking cooperative
was linked with four distributors as
defendants in a $525,000 antitrust action filed
in federal court here this week by the G&P
Amusement Co., lessor of the Moreland Theatre,
1,500-seat neighborhood house, and its
lessees, Sam Mendelson and Henry Baruch.
The defendants are Co-operative Theatres
of Ohio, 20th Century-Fox, Warners, Columbia,
Universal-International, and Paul Gusdanovic,
owner of four neighborhood theatres.
The defendants are alleged to have "unlawfully
conspired to put the Moreland Theatre
out of business." The plaintiffs ask damages
plus an injunction to halt the allegedly exclusive
sale by the four distributors involved
of their product to the Regent Theatre which
Gusdanovic owtis.
Samuel T. Gaines, attorney for the G&P
Amusement Co.. brought the action under
provisions of the federal antitrust laws. The
petition of complaint asserts that "the alleged
conspiracy started in 1938 when the
Moreland Theatre, previously operated by
Gusdanovic, was leased to the G&P Amusement
Co. at which time the owner of the
Regent theatre owner averred that nobody
in competition with the Regent would operate
the Moreland successfully or obtain sufficient
product to permit its profitable operation."
This threat, it is claimed, was fostered and
assisted in the organization of Cooperative
Booking agency shortly after the Moreland
began competing with the Regent. The
Moreland Theatre charges that the large
scale buying of Cooperative Theatres of Ohio,
gave competitive advantages to the Regent.
It is further claimed that the distributors
named in the suit refused to negotiate or
deal with the Moreland owners on "a fair,
free and genuinely competitive basis."
34 BOXOFFICE :: March 26, 1949