Boxoffice-November.24.1951

DuMont Cannot See
Thealre TV Profil
NEW YORK—Dr. Allen B. DuMont, head
of the Allen B. DuMont Laboratories, can't
see any profit in theatre television in the near
future and he also is pessimistic about color
television. That is still five or six years
away, he says, although he admits his company
has 50 engineers working on it.
DuMont has looked askance at color and
theatre television for several years in spite
of the fact that Paramount Pictures has a
heavy financial interest in the DuMont enterprises
and Paramount affiliates are predicting
wide use of both color TV and largescreen
TV in the near future. He says he can't
see any "economic sense" in theatre TV.
"People are not going to pay for something
they can get for nothing," he asserts. "Already
many of the theatres are squawking
that they will never get back the money they
invested in the equipment. And the quality
of the picture in the theatres doesn't begin
to compare with home reception." DuMont
predicts that the Columbia Broadcasting System
color apparatus will "never work."
During the 40 weeks ended October 8, the
company reported a loss of $319,000. This
was after a recovery of 1950 federal taxes
totalling $1,743,000. The company is now
devoting 60 per cent of its capacity to war
work, compared with an average of 15 per
cent for other companies, and he predicts
1952 will break all production records.
The backlog of military orders now totals
about $60,000,000.
Double Honor to Warner Brothers in
Anniversary
Harvey Heads Committee
On Round-Table Talks
NEW YORK—Rotus Harvey of the Pacific
Coast Conference of Independent Theatre
Owners has been named chairman of the
permanent round-table committee authorized
at the August Hollywood round-table discussions
between producers and exhibitors, according
to the Council of Motion Picture
Organizations.
Other members are Mitchell Wolfson of
Theatre Owners of America, Trueman T.
Rembusch of national Allied, Leo Brecher
of Metropolitan Motion Picture Theatres
Ass'n of New York and Harry Brandt of
Independent Theatre Owners Ass'n of New
York.
TNT Gets Garden Rights
For Theatre Television
NEW YORK—Theatre Network Television
has acquired from Madison Square
Garden Corp. the right to select major
events for theatre television, according
to Nathan L. Halpern. president. The
first selection was top college basketball
games beginning December 4 and continuing
throughout the season, ending
with the national invitation tournament
and the Olympic games playoff. Halpern
said the events will be made available
to theatres equipped with television,
and will be distributed on the basis of
local and regional attractiveness outside
of metropolitan New York.
Jack L., Harry M. and Albert Warner are shown receiving a plaque from Jack C'ohn,
president of Columbia Pictures, honoring them as "Pioneers of the Year" at the 12th
annual banquet of the Motion Picture Pioneers at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New
York Thursday (15). In the bottom photo a Theatre Owners of America committee is
seen at the Warner home office presenting a plaque in honor of the silver anniversary
of sound. Left to right: S. H. Fabian, theatre circuit president; Jack L. Warner,
Mitchell Wolfson, president of the Theatre Owners of America; Major .\lbert Warner,
Harry M. Warner and A. Julian Brylawski, head of the Washington, D. C, Theatre
Owners Ass'n, and Sam Pinanski, former president of TO.\.
Technicolor Price Reductions to Save
Industry Around $750,000 Yearly
HOLLYWOOD—With increased costs the
prevailing trend as concerns virtually every
item that goes into the manufacture of motion
pictures, a reversal of that rising index
is being effected by one film organization
through the announcement by the Technicolor
Motion Picture Corp. of price decreases
estimated to save the industry some $750,000
annually.
Revelation of the price cut was made by
Dr. Herbert T. Kalmus, president and general
manager, at a press conference on Wednesday
1211.
Dr. Kalmus pointed out that the price
reductions, entirely voluntary, were made
possible by Technicolor's absorption of 50
per cent or more of cost increases due to
rising wages and increases in the price of
raw- materials. By the new Technicolor price
list, effective December 1, 35mm release prints
are reduced .15 of a cent a foot, bringing the
new base price down to 5.33 cents a foot.
On the basis of one average print order
for a Technicolor feature, this would amount
to an estimated saving of about $3,600. This
figure is computed as pertaining to a 90-
minute subject, with a footage of approximately
8,100 feet, for a net saving of $12.15
per print. Since the print order per picture
is usually around 300, the total reduction in
cost of Technicolor processing would amount
to $3,654.
The $775,000 industry-wide savings envisioned
by Dr. Kalmus is based, apparently,
on the estimated production of approximately
200 features in Technicolor the coming year.
BOXOFFICE November 24, 1951 17