Boxoffice-November.24.1951

Film Dividends Lag
Behind Last Year
WASHINGTON—Film company dividend
payments were lagging behind last year by
more than $4,500,000 at the end of September,
the Department of Commerce announced
Monday (19 >, but pointed out that many companies
often report late, so that no firm conclusions
can be drawn at this time.
For the first nine months of 1951. motion
picture companies have thus far reported dividend
payments totaling $23,354,000, as against
$27,911,000 for the same period in 1950. An
example of tardiness in reporting. Commerce
officials noted, is the Stanley Co., which has
made no report this year, but in 1950 had
paid out $904,000 in four dividends issues by
the end of September.
September dividends reported to the Commerce
department totaled $4,545,000, compared
with $6,923,000 in September 1950.
A breakdown of the September figures
showed these differences from the final reports
for September 1950:
Warner Bros, made no payment, as against
$1,824,000 a year ago. However, the September
1950 dividend was unusual, department
officials explained, because the regular Warner
dividend generally comes in October, and
it may be assumed that an October payment
will be reported.
Paramount Pictures paid out $1,151,000, as
against $1,324,000 in September 1950. Twentieth
Century-Fox dropped from a dividend
of $1,521,000 in September 1950 to $1,384,000
this September. Loew's paid a dividend of
$1,929,000, the same as in September a year
ago.
United Artists paid out only $11,000, as
against $12,000 last September, but has already
reported a $300,000 dividend in October,
which corresponds to that made in August
1950, the Commerce department report said.
Eastman Sales Increase
But Net Profit Drops
NEW YORK—Sales of the Eastman Kodak
Co. went up during the first nine months of
the year to $384,243,040, compared with $295,-
364,390 for the same period the previous year,
but the net profit fell off to $32,350,194
($2.13 per share), compared with $43,134,237
($3.13 per share i the previous nine months.
The .shift was due to higher expenses and increased
taxes.
For the quarter ending September 9 the
net income was $9,239,116 (61 cents per share).
The board voted a dividend of 60 cents a
share on the common, plus a stock dividend
of one common share for every ten held. The
cash payment will be made January 2 to
.stockholders of record December 5, making
the total dividend for 1951 $1.80. The stock
distribution will be made January 26.
Savini Awarded $11,000
NEW YORK—Robert M. Savini and Charles
Y. Uille have been awarded an $11,000 default
judgment in New York supreme court against
Koland E. Geiger and Richard B. Morros,
doing business as World Enterprises. The defendants,
it was charged, failed to complete
a six-picture film production contract. The
Judgment has been filed in the county clerk's
office.
New Dublin Variety Tent
Officers Are Inducted
NEW YORK—The first officers and crew
of the new Dublin Tent No. 41, Variety Clubs
International, who will serve during 1952,
were inducted Friday (23) by Marc J. Wolf,
international chief barker, who flew with Mrs.
Wolf to Ireland for the ceremony. A large
delegation from the London tent attended.
Headquarters are in the Shelbourne hotel,
Dublin. The officers are: Louis Elliman,
Theatre Royal, Dublin, chief barker; Norman
Barfield, Paramount, first assistant chief
barker; Brinsley Sheridan, Adelphia Cinema,
Dunlaoghaire, second assistant chief barker;
Robert Britten, 20th Century-Fox, dough guy,
and T. O'Keeffe, Carlton Cinema, property
master.
Before returning to their Indianapolis
home, Marc and Mrs. Wolf will tour France,
Italy, Switzerland and as many other countries
as time will permit.
Robert O'Brian Promoted
To UA-TV Western Head
NEW YORK—Robert "Pat" O'Brian, a veteran
of six years in TV, who was formerly in
charge of the southern territory for the television
department of United Artists, has been
promoted to western representative by John
Mitchell, director of UA-TV. O'Brian will
make his headquarters in Chicago with full
command over the entire western operations.
O'Brian, who is 32, entered television in
1945 as supervisor of sales promotion and publicity
for WRGB, the General Electric TV
station in Schenectady, and was vice-president
of Atlas Television, independent production
company in New York, before joining
United Artists. He was radio director of Seidel
Advertising in New York before joining TV.
O'Brian was also a writer, producer and actor
in radio before enlisting in the U.S. army
air corps before Pearl Harbor.
MPEA Planning to Combat
Belgian Restrictions
NEW YORK—Proposals will be made shortly
to Belgium by the Motion Picture Export
Ass'n as a countermove to plans there to
impose limitations on remittances and import
licenses. There are no such restrictions at the
moment. MPEA met Monday (19) on the
subject and will discuss it at least once more
before arriving at conclusions.
The meeting also went into detail regarding
various operational problems in about a
dozen other foreign markets. The Spanish
situation, which has brought about an exchange
of views between John G. McCarthy
for MPEA and Ellis Arnall for the Society
of Independent Motion Picture Producers, was
discussed briefly.
Hal Roach TV Production
Set With Official Films
NEW YORK—Hal Roach has arranged a
television production deal with Official Films.
The new association will result in an extensive
lineup of pictures to be made on the Hal
Roach lot in Hollywood with the national sales
to be handled by the William Morris Agency.
Sign the 1951 'Christmas Solute'— Variety Clubs-
Will Rogers Memorial hospital—ond "help core tor
our own."
An Open Letter Sent
To David J. Greene
NEW YORK—RKO Theatres management
fired a second broadside late in the week at
the stockholders committee seeking proxies
i
for the December 6 meeting of the board of
directors. This was in the form of an open
letter to David J. Greene, who heads the
committee, asking replies to a series of ques-
tions.
Greene was asked if he and his "small
group of associates" are not seeking control
of the company, if he did not offer Schwartz
stock options as a reward for cooperation and
if the stock option "bugaboo" is not raised
now because Schwartz "turned down" his
offer. He was also asked why stockholders
haven't been told that the Greene group lost
district court moves to have "certain directors"
removed and to restrict the right of
Irving Trust Co. to vote the Howard Hughes
stock trusteed with it. It quoted the court
as saying: "None of the judges here can see
any justification for granting this relief on
either motion."
The circuit charged errors in reports
of earnings and unfair comparison of operations
with larger circuits, and asked what evidence
has been given stockholders that the
members of the committee can improve earnings.
It pointed out plans to combat television
competition.
The circular was headed: "Why Are You
Afraid to Tell the True Story?"
Thomas Turner Cook Sues
'U' for Antitrust Fee
NEW YORK—Thomas Turner Cooke, who
was one of the attorneys for Universal Pictures
Co., Inc., in the government's antitrust
suit against the major companies between
June 1946 and February 1951, has filed
suit in U.S. district court for $135,000. He
claims this amount is due him under the
terms of a fee agreement.
Cooke says he has been paid $15,000. He is
the lawyer who upset the NRA in the famous
Schechter poultry case by carrying it to the
U.S. Supreme Court.
RKO Names Max Mendel
Film Head in Germany
NEW YORK—Max Mendel has been named
RKO general manager in Germany by Phil
Reisman, vice-president in charge of foreign
distribution. He had been Universal-International
general manager in Germany and
previously was associated in various capacities
abroad with Paramount and MGM. He joined
the film industry in Germany in 1927 as a
salesman for
Parufamet, the combination of
Paramount. UFA and MGM.
CBS-Columbia Buys Plant
NEW YORK—CBS-Columbia, Inc., has
started a $5,000,000 expansion plan with the
purchase of a new plant in Long Island City.
Queens, from the Mack Ti'uck Co. David H.
Cogan, president, said the plant covers 275.000
square feet, which, together with facilities of
the company in Brooklyn, brings the total
manufacturing space to over 500,000 square
feet. The firm manufactures electronics
equipment for civilian and military use.
38 BOXOFFICE November 24, 1951
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