Boxoffice-April.07.1958

REPUBLIC TO CALL IT
QUITS
AS FILM PRODUCER BY JULY I
At Least That Is the Date
Yates Is Shooting For,
He Tells Stockholders
By SUMNER SMITH
NEW YORK — Republic Pictures will
have gooci prospects for earnings this fiscal
year if it is able to "get out of the motion
picture industry" by July 1. as planned.
Herbert J. Yates, president, told the annual
meeting of stockholders Tuesday (1>
at Essex House. He made the statement in
resp>onse to charges of mismanagement
made by a few vocal stockholders at the
lightly attended meeting.
MUM ON S.\LE OF COMPANY
While one stockholder called for liquidation
of the company, none asked what the
prospects were for its sale, although rumors
of impending sales have been very much in
the news and an attempt to purchase the
company is now before the courts.
Yates said Republic had definitely stopped
production of pictures for theatres early last
year. It has continued to operate some branch
offices but has closed its foreign branches.
and it will eventually close all domestic
branches, he said. He noted that, while Republic
had 36 branches three years ago. it
now has 19.
Republic has been financing independent
producers making pictures budgeted at from
S125.000 to S130.000 and has rented its studio
to them at a profit of $12,500 a stage daily,
Yates .said. Last November the decision was
reached to sign no more such contracts, he
said, although the company has gotten a
profit of from 40 to 50 per cent from pictures
and 40 per cent from handling their distribution.
In defense of management, Yates cited the
business recession, the "slow sales" of its
post-1948 pictures to television on the basis
of 15 per cent down payment and the balance
in monthly payments for three years, and
recent losses suffered by other companies.
He specifically mentioned Allied Artists, Warner
Bros.. MGM, Universal-International and
Columbia.
HAD AN INDIRECT INTEREST
It appeared to observers at the meeting
that some of the small group attacking management
had at least an indirect interest in
legal actions against the company.
George T. Vogel of White Weld & Co., investment
bankers, charged illegal action by
the board in reducing the number of directors
to be voted on from four to three. He said
it was against the bylaws and that the stockholders
had not been consulted. Max Freund,
counsel, leplied that the action had come up
in court and had been denied. Vogel walked
out of the meeting.
Joseph Blau. owner of 700 shares of common
stock, asked for detailed statements on
the operations and earnings of the laboratoi-y.
plastics, television and motion picture
division. Yates replied that disclosure of the
information would not be in the corporate
interests. He intimated that Blau had a real
Paramount Expanding
Production Program
Barney Balaban
NEW YORK— An "expanded production
program" will be undertaken by Paramount
Pictures, it was stated
here Monday (31) by
Barney Balaban, president,
upon his return
from studio conferences
with Y. Frank
Freeman, vice-president.
While Balaban
did not reveal what
the program would be
numerically, he said
the company's program
would be dedicated
"to the policy of
supplying theatres of
personal interest in the data since Blau, he
said, had figured in an attempt a year before
to buy Consolidated Film Laboratories.
Blau cited figures from the annual report
and statements by Yates to show that the
motion picture division had suffered a loss
of $5,000,000 in the fiscal year ended October
1957.
Another stockholder quoted an undenied
statement by Yates in 1955 that Republic was
expanding its motion picture interests and
that Yates was optimistic about their future.
He then quoted an undenied statement by
Yates in 1956 that Yates had known for
four years that the business was in a recession
and that exhibitors wanted only
multimillion-dollar pictures.
Yates replied that the operation of any
business called for an optimistic attitude,
and that in 1955 he had believed there would
be an upturn in boxoffice receipts.
Yates said he was optimistic about "overall
operations." He spoke of laboratory contracts
with television producers, financially
successful rentals of the studio and "important
laboratory deals now under way."
He said that "maybe" he had been wrong
in predictions in the past, but he felt he had
reason to be optimistic now.
Republic Pictures Board
Re-Elects Yates President
NEW YORK—The board of directors of
Republic Pictures met Wednesday (2) at the
company's home office and elected the following
officers; Herbert J. Yates, president:
Richard W. Alt.schuler, John J. O'Connell.
Sidney P. Solow, Douglas T. Yates, vicepresidents:
John Petrauskas jr.. treasurer:
Joseph E. McMahon. secretary: Richard
Rodgers and Harold Lange, assistant treasurers:
A. E. Schiller and Ira M. Johnson,
a.ssistant secretaries: and L. T. Rosso and
Lester Nelson, assistant secretary- treasurers.
the world with important, top-budget motion
pictures."
Expressing confidence in the future of the
industry, Balaban and Freeman stated that
Paramount has resolved to go forward with
a broad program of outstanding attractions."
The program, they said, will be supix)rted by
Paramount's "complete financial re.sources,
an efficient studio structure, combined with
Paramount's aggressive worldwide sales and
merchandising organization."
The accelerated production policy, it was
stated, was resolved after a complete study
of industry and market conditions around
the world which "very clearly demonstrates
the public's increasing interest in top caliber
motion pictures."
Nicholas Nayfack Dies;
Was MGM Producer
HOLLYWOOD — Film producer Nicholas
Nayfack, 49, died late Sunday, March 30, at
his Beverly Hills home after a sudden illness.
Funeral services were held Thursday.
Nayfack, who started his film career with
Fox in 1934, later went to MGM as an executive
where he had 13 credits as a producer.
A year ago he left MGM to produce
independently under the Pan Productions
banner and before his death had completed
one picture, "The Invisible Boy," which Metro
released.
He is survived by his wife, Patricia, and a
son, Nicholas jr., 12. He was a nephew of
Nicholas and Joseph Schenck and a cousin of
MGM executive Marvin Schenck.
MPEA Wins Long Dispute
With Danish Exhibitors
NEW YORK—The Motion Picture Export
Ass'n has won a 32-month dispute with Danish
exhibitors over rental terms, and business
with them is expected shortly to return to a
normal basis. By a more than three to one
vote, operators of provincial theatres which
had been holding out have agreed to demands
for a 40 per cent rental. The maximum was
formerly 30 per cent, and deemed insufficient
by the MPEA member companies. The Danish
front was weakened some time ago when individual
exhibitors acceded to U. S. demands.
British Attendance Drops
LONDON—Attendance at British motion
picture theatres in 1957 totaled 915.000,000,
off 17 per cent from the 1956 figure, for the
worst record of the last ten years, according
to the Board ot Trade Journal. It blamed television.
The number of theatres open during
1957 was 180 less than in 1956.
BOXOFFICE April 7, 1958