Boxoffice-May.03.1952

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Appeal Jarrico Case;
Reverse Scott Ruling
HOLLYWOOD—Plans for an immediate
appeal and the announced determination to
take the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court, if
necessary, were disclosed by the Screen Writers
Guild after a superior court ruling denied
an SWG request for a petition to force
RKO Radio to arbitrate the widely publicized
screen credits dispute involving scenarist
Paul Jarrico and the Howard Hughes film
company.
Superior Judge Roy L. Herndon turned
down the SWG request on the grounds that
the controversy between jarrico and Hughes
does not "primarily involve" the rights of the
guild.
Still awaiting determination are two other
court actions: one brought by RKO Radio
against Jarrico, seeking a ruling that the studio
not be held liable because the writer's
name was eliminated from the screen credits
on "The Las Vegas Story." and one brought
by Jarrico against the studio, charging breach
of contract.
Almost simultaneously. Federal Judge Ben
Harrison reversed the ruling of a jury which
awarded Adrian Scott. RKO writer-producer
and member of the so-called "unfriendly 10,"
more than S70.000 in damages for asserted
breach of contract. Acting on a motion by
RKO Radio attorneys, the jurist ordered a
new trial, holding that Scott's refusal to testify
at a House Un-American Activities Committee
probe constituted a violation of the
morals clause in his studio contract.
At the same time, however, Judge Harrison
upheld the verdict of the same jury in a companion
suit filed by scenarist Ring Lardner
jr. against 20th Century-Pox, in which Lardner
w-as awarded $20,000 in damages. In this
instance, the jurist pointed out, the studio
inked Lardner to a new contract after he
made his Red probe appearance, and consequently
the company had waived its right to
invoke the morals clause in Lardner's pact.
New Meggers Scale Goes
To $550 Weekly and Up
HOLLYWOOD—Given the nod of approval
by the membership, the Screen Directors
Guild is upgrading modifications in the
craft's basic agreement with the major producers,
agreed upon after a series of meetings
between SDG negotiators and producer representatives.
The revision bring the minimum salary for
meggers of westerns up to $550 weekly, with
a four-week guarantee, on pictures budgeted
at $100,000 or less. On all other features the
upped to a $550 weekly minimum with
scale is
a five-and-one-half week guarantee.
To Present Polio Respirator
HOLLYWOOD—Songwriter Jimmy Mc-
Hugh's Polio foundation will present its fifth
polio respirator for children to Dr. Albert
Bowers of the Los Angeles county hospital in
ceremonies to be staged Tuesday (1).
Disney Signs Nature Expert
HOLLYWOOD—Walt Disney has signed
Rutherford Piatt, nature authority, to assist
in preparing an upcoming True-Life Adventure
on the life of the honeybee. The halfhour
semidocumentary is for RKO release.
TO
the Hollywood AFL Film Council a
double bow. One for its forthright stand
in challenging the blanket condemnation
of Hollywood guilds and unions issued
by Rep. Donald Jackson in a recent speech
before the Los Angeles Kiwanis club. The
second because its precedential, courageous
action could and should be used as a pattern
for similar procedure by other industry organizations,
not only in Hollywood but
throughout the remainder of the nation.
Over the signature of Roy M. Brewer, its
chairman, the AFL Film Council addressed a
letter to Congressman Jackson in which, with
refreshing absence of equivocation, it was
pointed out that "long before the public had
its eyes opened to the Communist menace,"
the present AFL unions and guilds in the
film capital "were battling the Communists
in every way within their legal rights and,
at times, in ways extrajudicial, to say the
least."
The congressman's charge that the film
crafts are keeping on their membership lists
studio workers identified with communism
was met. in the council's reply, by the explanation
that if any Red is "presently a
member of an AFL union or guild in Hollywood,
and his union or guild should oust him
of his party membership, that
Communist could keep right on working" because
the Taft-Hartley law "prevents a union
from denying work opportunities to a person
because he is a Communist."
Reminding Representative Jackson, who is
a member of the House Un-American Activities
Committee, that he voted for the Taft-
Hartley law. the film council's communique
urged the solon to work for the amendment
of that legislation, and concluded;
"You. Mr. Jackson, are not helping our
nation when you falsely accuse the very organizations
which have been the spearhead
of the battle against Communist conspirators
in Hollywood."
No one would dare to question Roy Brewer's
position as a patriotic citizen of both his
country and his industry. A staunch and
militant anti-Communist, he is, in addition
to his chairmanship of the council, an active
member of the Motion Picture Industry Council
and is the top brass in Hollywood of the
powerful lATSE. He has served untiringly
and effectively on scores of committees dedicated
to charity drives and other undertakings
of all-industry proportions and benefits.
In taking sharp issue with Jackson, the
council hit him in a spot that hurts any
politician the most—his source of votes. Representative
Jackson W'as elected from a district
in which reside many of the 20.000
members of the film council. Tlieir protest
against his arbitrary, thoughtless blanket accusations
should give him pau.se for thought
before he again, willy-nilly, singles out the
motion picture industry or any department
thereof as an always-handy whipping boy.
There are other members of Congress, and
they come from all parts of the country,
who have always been too eager to take
picks on Hollywood. Regardless of their geographical
origin, they have in their respective
constituencies many voters whose livelihoods
come from some branch of the motion picture
industry—executives and employes of the exhibition
and distribution fronts.
If every organization of such persoas, be
it union or commercial, would make It a matter
of regular busine.ss to write Its congressmen,
in similar vein to that pursued by the
Hollywood Council whenever its chosen lawmakers
cast unfounded accu.satloas at the
film capital and its people, the result would
be a sharp decline in the .solonic propensity
toward seeking headlines at Cinemania's expense.
Furthermore, it would be a salubrious manifestation
of the solid-front position that the
industry's top brass has decided, through
COMPO, TOA and other comparable groups,
is so highly necessary for the future best
interests of the trade.
In a letter to its membership, the Motion
Picture Alliance for the Preservation of .•\merican
Ideals announced that one /big^niev
Stypulkowski is to be substituted for Whittaker
Chambers as principal speaker at the
anti-Red group's May 14 meeting. In billing
Zbigniev Stypulkowski, the alliance describes
him as "a brilliant speaker—no accent."
The MPAer who introduces him without an
accent rates an Oscar.
Bad news travels fast—and far; the good
is "often interred .
."
For the past several months, the press
both trade and general—has been devoting
much space to the heckling of the motion
picture business and some of its output on
the part of certain segments of the American
Legion and that organization's weekly magazine;
with widespread intra-industry publicity
anent what was being planned, by Eric Johnston
and others from the trade's high echelons.
to offset the growing menace.
On the other side of the ledger, consider
the recent visit to the film capital of Frank
C. Hilton, commander of the Veterans of
Foreign Wars of the United States, who was
here to bestow upon William Goetz, in charge
of production at Universal-International, a
VFW citation for the studio's "Bright Victory,"
which was hailed as a contribution to
veterans' rehabilitation.
Commander Hilton on that occasion declared,
"The film industry, both management
and artists, should be accorded the
grateful thanks of all service organizations
for their patriotic contributions . . . which
cannot be adequately measured. But it merits
our deepest appreciation."
As far as can be ascertained, broadcasting
of Hilton's paeans of praise and gratitude
was limited to a routine news release from
U-I's publicity department, and very little
space in the public prints.
Here was something—most especially the
reference to "all service organizations"—into
which the Motion Picture Council and the
Studio Publicity Directors committee, two outfits
ostensibly dedicated to the improvement
of Hollywood's public relations, might have
sunk their teeth— if any.
BOXOFFICE May 3, 1952 SI