SHOW BUSINESS: Glad Hands Across the Sea

When British Cinemagnate Joseph ArthurRank visited Hollywood last summer, the gilded city wined and wooed him like everybody’s business. Rank held the key to U.S. movie profits in the foreign market, and everybody wanted the key. Last week it looked as if two of Hollywood’s studios finally got it.*

Up & coming International Pictures, Inc. and Universal Pictures Co., Inc. (20% Rank-owned) turned the trick by a smart deal with Rank. Under the deal, Rank would distribute through his 820 theaters abroad at least eight pictures a year made by International. In return, Rank would get what he never had before, wide U.S. distribution of at least eight top pictures yearly. All Hollywood hoped that this would end Britain’s threat to squeeze Hollywood out of the golden British market. Many a British M.P. had angrily suggested that importations from Hollywood be cut. They had complained that Hollywood made $80,000,000 a year in Britain, while British pictures, even good ones, could hardly get a showing in the U.S.. Example: the superb movie Night Train grossed only $650,000 in the U.S., less than many a poor Hollywood B picture.

For International the deal was a leg up toward turning Hollywood’s big five (MGM, Paramount, 20th Century-Fox, Warner, RKO-Radio) into a big six. It now has distribution guaranteed in the cushy foreign market, and a studio (Universal) in which to make pictures. All it has to do now is to turn out good pictures, and it has a good start in that.

During its two years’ existence, International has produced seven pictures, principally hits (like Casanova Brown and Woman in the Window), which have grossed a high average of $3,250,000 a picture. The two top-drawer Hollywood executives who run International are responsible forthis record.

International’s production boss is round-faced, even-tempered William Goetz, 42, who did a bang-up job of running 20th Century-Fox while Darryl Zanuck was a colonel in the Army. After making the Academy Award picture, The Song of Bernadette, Goetz quit in a huff when Zanuck returned and began acting like a “little colonel” around the studio. Goetz approached dark, dapper Leo Spitz, 57, Hollywood’s legal and financial know-it-all. A boy wonder (he earned his Bachelor of Philosophy and Doctor of Jurisprudence degrees before he was 21), Spitz masterminded the reorganization of both RKO and Paramount when they were on the rocks.

Under their deal with Rank, the present International Pictures, Inc. will be dissolved, a new International Pictures Corp. formed. It will be ownedby Spitz (board chairman), Goetz (president)and Universal, will have $10,000,000 in U.S. operating capital.

Jointly owned by Rank, Universal and International (50% Rank money, 50% American), is a new distributing company, United World Pictures Co., Inc. This company will select and handle the distribution of the 16 U.S. and British pictures; it will use Universal’s physical distribution facilities.

Hardest hit by the deal were David O. Selznick and United Artists, who up to last week seemed to have the inside track on Rank. United Artists still had distribution rights to eight Rank pictures, including Caesar and Cleopatra, one of the most expensive pictures ($5,000,000) ever made. But from now on, United World gets first pick of all Rank pictures, regardless of what other dickering Rank may do with Selznick or any other U.S. firm.

Summed up Variety: “The United World achieves . . . something which the U.S. motion-picture . . . industry has been trying to do for 25 years.”

*At week’s end, Hollywood buzzed with still another rumor: that Rank was completing negotiations with a minor U.S. distribution outfit to get distribution of his B pictures.