Boxoffice-March.10.1951

Eastman Kodak Net
For 1950 Increased
ROCHESTER — Eastman Kodak Co.
net
earnings for 1950 went up to $61,858,957, a
new record for the company and $12,088,258
above the previous year. The profit was at
the rate of $3.80 per share on the 12,996,228
shares of common outstanding, or 13.4 per
cent of sales.
Sales totaled $461,389,980, it was stated by
Thomas J. Hargrave, president. The fiscal
year 1950, which ended December 31, instead
of December 25 as in the previous year,
totaled 53 weeks.
Cash dividends on the common for 1950
were $1.80 per share and preferred dividends
at six per cent totaled $369,942.
Payrolls totaled $160,500,000 in 1950, compared
with $149,300,000 in 1949, and employe
benefits advanced from $37,512,997 in 1949 to
$44,701,144 in 1950. These benefits included
wage dividends, premiums on life insurance,
retirement annuities, disability benefits, unemployment
insurance and survivors insurance
taxes, pay for vacations and legal holidays,
sick benefits, and others.
The Korean war caused a big increase in
•demands for company products, jumping sales
during the last 29 weeks of the year by about
29 per cent over the same period in 1949.
Working capital was increased by $27,196,-
840 to $156,747,356.
A wage dividend of approximately $18,000,-
000 was distributed to 45,000 employes March 9.
Employment of Boothmen
Limited by Newark Law
NEWARK, N. J.—An ordinance limiting
the employment of motion picture projectionists
to Newark residents was approved
recently by the city commission. The action
was protested by the owners of two theatres,
which were closed during a labor dispute
and which have not reopened.
Jordan Eskin and his father Harold, officers
of the Harold S. Eskin Amusement Enterprises,
linked the "adoption of the ordinance
at this time" with labor difficulties
the closed Cameo and Avon.
Commissioners denied the charge and said
it was passed "solely in the interest and
for the welfare of the people of Newark."
The ordinance requires projectionists to be
residents of this city for a year before they
may be licensed. Another provision requires
(em to be examined at least twice a year.
^aradise' Fashion Show
Jet for 16 TV Stations
NEW YORK—A special
"Bird of Paradise"
fashion program will be put on the Columbia
Broadcasting System's television net
in 16 metropolitan centers March 13. The
ow win take the place of the regular Vanity
lir show in an arrangement worked out by
arles Einfeld, vice-president of 20th
Century-Fox in charge of advertising, pub-
Ity and exploitation.
The cities included in the program will be:
ew York, Atlanta, Birmingham, Boston,
Charlotte, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton,
Detroit, Jacksonville, Kalamazoo, Louisville,
Philadelphia, Syracuse, Washington and New
~ ,ven.
Dipson Decision Charged
Contrary to Para. Ruling
FALL GUYS — Richard T. Kemper,
right, manager of the Erlanger Theatre
in Buffalo and zone manager for Dipson
Theatres, is snapped at the Wild
West bar during the spring Fall Guy
show and luncheon of the Circus Saints
and Sinners, in the Statler hotel. Kemper
was ringmaster. At the left Is Larry
Thebaud, president of Buffalo Bill tent,
and in the center is former Mayor
Thomas L. HoUing, founder and first
president of the tent.
George Breakston to Make
More Features in Japan
NEW YORK—George Breakston, who coproduced
"Tokyo Pile 212" in Japan, plans
to make two more features there. "Tokyo,"
which is the first picture made in Japan by
an American company, will be released by
RKO. Breakston has left for Washington,
following conferences with RKO home office
officials, and he expects to fly to Japan
late in March for a ten-week production operation.
He reported that Japanese business is
booming in its 1,200 film houses. Tokyo's big
cinema houses seat an average of 4,000.
Breakston-Stahl on Deals
NEW YORK—George Breakston and C.
Ray Stahl, heads of Breakston-Stahl Productions,
arrived Wednesday (7) to discuss
a releasing deal for "Unmei," first feature
from the new company, and to talk over exploitation
on "Tokyo File 212," soon to be released
by RKO.
Cite 'God Needs Men
ZURICH—The International Catholic Office
has awarded its diploma to "God Needs
Men" as the picture which contributed most
to the spiritual and moral uplift of humanity
during the year. Paul Gratz was the
producer. The film is being distributed by
20th Century-Fox outside of the United
States. It will be handled in this country
by APE Corp.
WASHINGTON—The decision of Federal
Judge Knight in the Dipson Theatres, Inc.,
case of Buffalo is completely contrary to the
Supreme Court's ruling in the Paramount New
York and Jacksonville Park Chicago trust
cases, according to attorneys for the New
York circuit court of appeal.
The $4,500,000 suit, brought by Dipson
against six major distributors and Buffalo
Theatres, was thrown out of the Buffalo district
court by Judge Knight. He held that
Paramount and Loew's, in pooling their theatre
interests in Buffalo and in favoring the
pooled theatres in distributing their films,
were not monopolizing or restraining trade,
nor were the other distributors in favoring
the Loew's-Paramount theatres. Knight said
that each distributor had individually decided
it would be to his advantage to prevent
such competition.
Dipson, in appealing the case, revealed it
was drastically reducing the amount of damages
sought, dropping claims for over $4,500,-
000. Dipson now seeks only $170,000 damages,
tripled to $510,000, for injury claimed to the
Century and Bailey theatres while Dipson
actually operated them. It has dropped the
$4,500,000 tripled damages originally sought
for the loss of the leases on the Century and
Riviera and another $75,000 claimed for injury
to the Ridge Theatre in Lackawanna.
Sutphen Plans to Appeal
Warners Consent Decree
WASHINGTON—Notice of its intention to
appeal to the Supreme Court provisions of
the Warner Bros, consent decree was made
by Sutphen Estates, Inc. During January
Sutphen tried to intervene in the case tiefore
the statutory court in New York. It
owns the property on which the Strand
Theatre is built, and said Warner had given
it a 98-year lease.
Sutphen objected to the consent decree on
the ground that a lease with the top WB
company would be replaced by a lease with
a company with only part of the assets of the
former company.
The intervention was denied by the New
York court after hearing attorneys for both
Warner and the government argue that Sutphen's
interests under the new setup would
be fully protected.
Hollywood Red Inquiry
Before MPAA Group
NEW YORK—What to do about the house
un-American activities committee's renewed
search for Communist sympathizers among
film personalities was the topic of a meeting
held Wednesday (7) at the Motion Picture
Ass'n offices. No formal decisions were
reached.
The session was called by Joyce O'Hara,
acting MPAA head, and was attended by
Howard Dietz, Max E. Youngstein, Jerry
Pickman, Art Schmidt, S. Barret McCormick,
Steve Edwards, Sid Blumenstock, Si Seadler,
John Josephs, Phil Gerard, Charles SimoneUi,
Jonas Rosenfield, Ulric Bell and Sidney
Schriber.
XOFFICE :
: March
10, 1951
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